What the future brings
by Paladin of Farore
Summary: A year after Apocalypse, a boy from the future,wielding god-like powers, Nathan Summers, arrives, hoping to prevent a future where evil reigns supreme, and save the ones he loves before fate catches up with them. Time travel.
1. Prologue

**Ok, this idea has been floating in my head since forever, and I've wasted almost my entire winter break. It's my first Evolution story and I'm nervous about juggling all the characters, well here it goes. My line breaks are going to be the words LINEBREAK, since for some reason my lines never show up on this site.**

There was a light crunch as a lone figure padded softly across the rubble covered street. That's all there really was on the ground these days, ruble, debris, the remains of what once was. Both sides of the road were littered with the skeletal remnants of long ruined structures.

There were no people left in this town. Most had been killed, others fled in terror. Only those deemed "worthy" were allowed to live. Survival of the fittest; that was the law of the land. The figure appeared to be a boy about seventeen years old, though his face was etched with experiences far beyond what an man should have to endure.

He wore simple pants that extended just past the top of his thick leather boots. With this he wore a blue leather jacket, streaked with golden yellow on the sides, with an X insignia on the breast. He had piercing blue eyes and messy brown hair, with a single white lock hanging in his face. He wore a backpack, which held very little.

He was following a particular road, which ran alongside Main Street. To most people his presence here would seem odd. What would a teenage boy be searching for in a war-torn, desolate, deserted town? As he continued on the elevation slowly began to rise, until he was walking up a true hill. The hill curved to the right as he walked, steepening slightly as he went, passing the ruins of dozens of homes. Nearly half an hour had passed before the terrain leveled out, and his destination was in sight.

Atop another smaller hill stood the charred, scattered remains of what was once a grand estate. The main building was completely gone, while several of the smaller surrounding buildings were simply piles of rocks and timber.

At the foot of the long driveway was what was left of an iron gate, a tangle mass of blackened metal. As the boy approached his left eye began to glow a bright white. The metal instantly began to disentangle itself at incredibly speed, and within seconds the gate was completely reassembled as if it had never been destroyed. He pushed the gate open and began the trek up the drive, walking at a slow pace, as if he were trying to delay his arrival at the top of the hill. The faint outline of where the main building was still visible, though nothing else remained.

He took a deep breath as he stepped up to the place where the large ornate double doors once stood, and with great effort, stepped over the threshold. He was frozen in place for a moment, considering what to do next.

His left eye once again began to glow, and he 'watched' as the psychic residue accumulated over many years gathered, and then filled his mind. Memories of hundred of individuals filled his mind. All the emotions they felt, love, laughter, pain, hatred, came rushing into his mind. He 'saw' teens pass through the once glorious halls as they learned to harness their incredible inborn abilities.

Then he saw a final image of all the owns he once knew and loved gathered around him as he blew out the candles of his tenth birthday cake, laughing gleefully as his parents and sister smiled lovingly at him.

He ripped of the connection suddenly and violently. The images of the past left his mind, and he once again stood in the ruins of the Xavier Institute. He felt a tear fall down he cheek, and his wrist jerked upward to cast it away.

"This isn't the time, Nate" he told himself aloud. "You've got to keep moving."

Nate moved across what was once the entrance hall, past where the large staircases leading to the upper floors once stood. He searched for several minutes, finding it hard to identify with the places without any of the walls or familiar features remaining.

"Well, if I can't find the elevator, I'll make one" he mused to himself. His eye glowed, and the flooring beneath him began to crack in a circular shape around him. Once the circle was complete, it began to descend into the lower levels of the institute.

As his eyes past the floor he was thrown into darkness, his surroundings illuminated only by the light given off by his eye. His floating platform set down in the middle of a steel corridor, lined with dozens of secondary sleeping chambers used in case there was something wrong with the rooms above ground.

The hall was thickly coated in dust, giving a dark gray tint to the usually shiny steel walls and floor. Nate set off at a brisk pace, until he came to a large circular chamber. This had once been the war room, and it contained a massive circular table that was still littered with old papers. Four halls diverged from this room, one to the hangar, another to the danger room and it's supporting hardware, another to the lab, and the last to Cerebra. Nate turned down the left path towards the lab, now jogging at a mild pace. The lab was a huge room filled to the brim with technology that wouldn't normally be accessible to the common man. In the center were long work tables once used by Hank McCoy; bits of metal and electronic components still spread over their surface.

The walls were covered by diagrams and blueprints for new devices. Prototypes hung proudly in glass cases, and pictures of friends and acquaintances hung in their frames. One wall however was occupied by a massive computer monitor that reached the ceiling, and had a single black leather swivel chair set before its controls. Nate felt odd as he slowly set himself down in the chair that to him would always rightfully belong to another. He placed his backpack to the side and then turned back to the computer. With a quick jolt of telekinesis the main power switch was flicked on, and the giant screen came to life. Thirty second later, the following message appeared on screen.

**ENTER CODENAME: **

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he entered.

**ENTER CODENAME**: X-MAN

The screen went blank for a moment before giving the verbal command.

"**VOICEPRINT TEST: State your name and powers". **

"Nathan Christopher-Charles Summers, telepathic telekinetic" he replied to the computer. The machine clicked and beeped as it processed the voice pattern.

"**Age of mutant manifestation?" **

"Nine" he replied for a second time. There was another pause.

"**The file on NATHAN CHRISTOPHER-CHARLES SUMMERS indicates you are a psychic, please give a sample of your power for identification". **

A small pad folded out from the keyboard, and Nate placed his hand on it, pouring a pulse of psychic energy into it. The computer paused one last time, and then the desktop appeared. Nate worked quickly, transferring dozens of files into a portable data storage device. When this task was completed, he reached down to place the device in the backpack, but reconsidered, instead placed it in his right pocket. Turning back to the computer, he pulled up a set of blue prints he knew wouldn't be on the wall. He printed them out and took a closer look at them.

He placed them on the work table in the center of the room. Then his eye glowed and he twitched a finger, as he set to work. The components needed flew from all directions, bursting out of cabinets, ripping out drawers, and pulled themselves free from already built devices. The pieces swirled in a mechanical whirlwind as Nate assembled them telekinetically. When they finally settled, Nate held a large boxy shaped device that had pulsing wires and made loud clicking noises in his palm. He leapt into the air, taking flight at great speed, he was in a real hurry now.

He rushed past the war room, and burst into the large circular chamber that was Cerebra. He landed, and with a simple thought the chair placed in front of the machine was moved aside, and he went to work. The young psychic set about configuring the device into the interworkings of cerebra's systems.

"Ok," he said aloud as he stood up from his work, reattaching the control panel. "Well, here goes everything." He sat down, and the cerebra helmet rose from its resting place, and placed itself upon his head. He took a deep breath, and prepared to let his power flow.

His eye filled with light once again, shining much brighter than before. Psionic energy flowed through him, arching out of his eye like lightning. The entire room began to shake, and several of the glass panels that lined the room fell to the ground with a shatter.

The spherical walls suddenly began to glow as well, a bright purple contrasting the bright white of Nathan's eye. He rose out of the chair, floating to the center of the room, still wearing the helmet. His arms rose, and as they did energy crackled around him as the entire room began to become lost in the brightness.

The walls dissolved, as did the helmet, and suddenly the room opened up and became a massive worm tunnel. Nate was flung forward through the swirling pink and purple vortex, arms raised high as he commanded the pure flow of psychic energy. He turned around as he zoomed forward, reaching his hands forward, and then pulling them into his body. The back of the vortex seemed to collapse, as he pulled the very existence he once inhabited with him.

Nate let out a great groan as he felt a massive power source approach, his mind screaming from sensory overload. He twisted around in all directions, and what he saw was the exact opposite of what he wanted. To his right floated a being precisely the same size as him. He was garbed in sharp silver armor that covered his entire body, wore a helmet covered his face, and had large blades atop both his shoulders.

"Hello, Nathan" he said slyly, obviously grinning through his helmet.

"Stryfe!" Nate bellowed angrily, his voice echoing through the energy stream.

"Oh so you're surprised to see me, are you Nathan?" Stryfe asked wryly. "Did you really think I'd let you manipulate time without me? My father always thought you would try something like this, so he told me to follow you back to your pathetic little institute where Xavier preached of peace and equality."

"Well your father's a fool then!" Nate screamed angrily. "I'm pulling the old timeline with me, he's still a corpse where were going, he won't exist anymore!"

"Oh yes, I'm perfectly aware that father's in a rather embarrassing state right now, and that I'd be a stranger to him. That's why I brought him with me". Reaching into his armor, Stryfe withdrew a baseball sized jet black crystal.

"It's easy to destroy the body, but very difficult indeed to destroy the soul" Stryfe said amusedly as he took in the look of shock and horror on Nate's face. "My father will know all about our time, for the minds of both timelines will become one, it seems plans will be a little ahead of schedule this time around."

Nathan opened his mouth to reply but the vortex suddenly convulsed and twisted, and a golden light suddenly appeared at the end.

"Well," Stryfe said, "It seems we've arrived, goodbye Nathan." He dove to the side, breaking through the side of the vortex, diverging into a new path.

"Damn it!" Nate swore loudly. Now they'd come out at different points, but the same time. He was expelled from the tunnel with the velocity of a cannon, and he landed roughly on the ground, bouncing several times before coming to a stop when he suddenly hit something. He groaned and held his head in pain as he took in his surroundings.

He was in a forest, and had apparently crashed into a tree. There was a large gash in the dirt where he'd skid. Clambering to his feet, he rose into the air and looked around. It was night, and the moon was huge and full in the sky. He turned in midair, and looked into the distance. The Xavier institute shined brightly in the night, the lights from its windows glowing like beacons.

"Well, I'd better get going" he whispered aloud and took off into the night.

**Now, comic readers will get several references there, if not some of this may be a little weird. But don't worry thing will all eventually be explained. Happy reading!**


	2. Opening day: part one

**Ok, I'm a little disappointed about the lack of response to the first chapter, so I can only hope I'll get more for this one. So please, if you read, please review! On with the story!**

White light. Pure, white light. That was all there in all directions. A flame of gold sprouted from nothing, leaving in its wake a woman. She had dark red hair and bright green eyes, and bore the beauty of goddess.

A white robe that was tight to her skin and had long ribbons flowing from the arms, and was tinted with gold adorned her features. On her chest was a shimmering golden crest, in the shape of a bird whose wings spread between her shoulders. She blinked, and suddenly a crowd of people surrounded her. Countless men and women, all wearing similar costumes of different colors stood around her, some raised above the others on invisible tiers. These were the Phoenix corps.

The woman extended her hand in front of herself as the corps watched, and a glowing, spinning orb seemingly filled with stars appeared in her palm.

"The time has come" she proclaimed in a loud voice that echoed across the full nothingness of the white hot room, slowly rotating herself around, facing the corps.

"The destiny of this world" she said raising the orb above her head, "Is coming to pass. What say you?" she asked them. A slender figure, who appeared to be only a teenager wearing a magenta suit stepped forward from the crowds.

"Let it die" he told her. "The forces at work are far greater than even you, who bear the crown in the White hot room can control". There were murmurs of agreement amongst the corps. What was so important about this world, one of trillions.

"Silence" she told them icily, pacing around, looking them all in the eye. "Even you cannot deny fate, which you know is at play here. This world will decide the fate of all that is".

"You say that" the Slender man said. "But is it not true that you may be particularly biased? After all. This world is one where you have not yet ascended, and it is your son, the one known as X-man who pulls the strings of these events."

Many of the corps nodded in agreement.

"Let it die, so it may begin anew" the Slender man told her.

"Let it die" the corps repeated.

"ENOUGH!" a deep voice boomed across the void. They turned, and the corps parted to reveal the from of a man. At least, he appeared to be a man. He looked as if he were composed of pure light, and glowed a bright gold. The corps trembled in his wake, and cowered as he approached the White Phoenix, and stopped beside her.

"My word is final, my choices true. And my choice is to leave the fate of this world, in the hand of the White Phoenix of the crown."

"Of course" the corps spoke as one. "Who are we to deny the One above All?"

**LINEBREAK**

It was a very eventful at the Xavier Institute. Not the usual kind of eventful for the X-men. They weren't battling the brotherhood or preventing a power hungry mad man from achieving world domination. No, today the institute was opening its doors to the public, and would be welcoming roughly 134 teenage mutants as its students. The original students were to take on positions as teachers, and would help to train the next generation of X-men.

The front lawn of the institute was crowded with new students and more than a dozen news crews, clambering at a chance to see inside the controversial mutant school. Charles Xavier, more widely known as Professor X, looked out at the lawn from the large windows of his office, fingers tented, deep in thought. He had always meant to expand the institute. And now he had. The estate now included two large dormitory buildings, classrooms, and all the accommodations to support its students. But now that he'd gotten to this point, he had to be cautious. The media was trying to make it seem as though he was building some kind of mutant army.

But he had allowed them onto his property for the exact opposite reason, to show them that not all mutants were like Magneto, and that Homo sapiens and mutants could coexist. This was not an easy task, especially considering all there was to do already. It was a great desire of the Professor to meet with all of the students personally, however briefly. This would take time, a lot of time. He simply hoped that Logan, Storm, Jean, Scott, and the other new teachers could handle the rest of the institutes needs while he interviewed the new students, many of whom were mentally withdrawn do to constant persecution.

Then there was Magneto, who had taken his campaign for mutant supremacy to a whole new level. Along with his brotherhood he'd conquered a small island nation off the coast of Africa and declared it Genosha, the mutant homeland. Charles had been on and off the phone every five minutes with government office officials, doing whatever he could to help deal with the actions of his former friend.

However no matter what tasks he attempted to distract himself with, Charles could still not forget the images of the future burned into his mind. He'd seen good and bad things, his X-men growing and changing, mutants forming a sense of unity. But he'd also seen the prejudices against his kind continue, and one of his most beloved pupils consumed by her own godlike powers. What terrified him even more than the visions was the fact that he could do nothing to prevent them. He knew the danger in meddling with the future, and if he were to try dand stop it, he'd only end up making things worse.

"Charles?" Storms voice sounded from the door.

"Yes, Ororo?" he replied, turning his wheelchair to face the weather goddess as she entered the room.

"_Frost _and her students are here" she said, hissing the name with complete and utter hatred. The Professor sighed.

"I know that Emma can be harsh at times, Ororo, but would you at least try to get along?" Storm sighed.

"As long as _she _behaves." The Professor nodded, sighing once again inwardly. Storm had never gotten along with Emma Frost. Their very natures opposed one another. While Storm was herself a force of nature and guardian of all that was in it, Emma Frost was a materialistic women who found it very amusing to manipulate everyone around her for her own entertainment.

Storm had been repulsed when she'd learned that Emma would be joining the institute as a teacher. She didn't want her corrupting any young minds, especially mind of young, naïve teenagers who wielded super powers.

"I'll behave if you do darling" a cool voice said from the doorway. There stood Emma Frost. She had long, dazzling platinum blonde hair and wore white clothing so revealing it'd put playboy models to shame.

"Emma" the Professor said warmly, wheeling his chair toward her with a smile. "It's wonderful to see you again".

"It's wonderful to see you as well, Charles" Emma replied as she embraced her former teacher in a light embrace.

"I thought your students were coming, Frost" Storm said coldly, arms crossed, her azure eyes sending a death glare at the blonde.

"Oh yes" she turned to the door. "Girls, Quentin, come in please".

Six teens stepped into the room. Five of them were one hundred percent identical, all with silvery blonde hair, slightly glowing blue eyes, and identical white sun dresses. The other teenager was a mousy haired boy with a wiry build and horn rimmed glasses.

"Introduce yourselves" Emma commanded her students lightly. The girls stepped forward and one at a time recited their names.

"Celeste."

"Esme."

"Mindee."

"Phoebe."

"Sophie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you" they spoke together in identical voices. Emma smirked at the slightly shocked expressions on her former teacher and schoolmates faces.

"Their telepathically linked" she explained. "Their five separate girls, but think and function as one conductive unit. They call themselves the five-in-one".

"_It's an honor to meet you, sir_" Quentin sent telepathically, stepping forward to shake the Professors hand. "I'm Quentin Quire, but I'm called Kid Omega" he said aloud The Professor nodded smiling.

"Six telepathic students at once, that's quite a handful. I'm impressed, Emma".

"Thank you Charles" Emma said sweetly.

"Yes, very impressive" Storm sneered. "Have you taught them to be just as manipulative and cruel as you yet?"

"It's next on the agenda, dear".

"Please" Charles interjected. "I know that your feelings towards one another are strained at best. But please, try to get along".

"Yes, Professor" they said as one, quickly glaring at one another.

"Charles" Beast said as he popped his shaggy blue head into the room. "We're ready for you downstairs."

"Ah yes, thank you" Charles said rolling towards the door, beckoning the others to follow. "It's now or never I suppose."

Jean Grey nervously rocked back and forth on her heels as she beckoned students, parents, and reporters through the grand doors of the mansion's main building. She was very anxious. Then again, why wouldn't she be. So much had been going on recently that events were beginning to blur together in her already highly active psychic mind. She was starting her position as both the schools English teacher and telekinetic adviser. She'd already spent weeks writing her lesson plans, and had been looking forward to this day with huge excitement. But then again the she was anxious for the same reasons she was excited. Would she be a good teacher? Would the students like her?

These questions were constantly in her mind, keeping her anxiety at a max at all times. This wasn't helped by her stranger reoccurring dreams. Bright lights and high voices were all she heard, and the dream always ended the same, with the image of a fiery bird burned into her memory.

"Hey, beautiful" she heard behind her. She grinned as she turned to see her boyfriend, Scott Summers A.K.A Cyclops approach her. Like her he was dressed in a new teaching uniform, which consisted of a black leather jacket with a large golden X vest worn over it. They exchanged a quick kiss.

"So" Scott said peering out at the empty lawn. "Is that everyone?"

"I think so, but Logan and Laura still aren't here yet".

"Don't worry" he reassured her. "They'll turn up eventually".

Since the defeat of Apocalypse, X-23, who was now going by Laura, had officially joined the team and was legally Wolverine's adopted daughter. They got along very well, considering they were 98.7% genetically identical. So now the two perfect killing machines were off on a cross country motorcycle trip, and were due to return, well, six hours ago.

"I'm surprised how ell it's been going" Jean said. "There haven't been any reporters who've outright accused the Professor of plotting to take over the world with his mutant army."

"Well, considering our luck, that's what's next isn't it?" he said half seriously, half jokingly. He smiled at her, sub consciously feeling for the small square box in his left pocket. Then there was the loud roar of an engine as two motorcycles came thundering down the long driveway. They were surprised to see that a third person accompanied the pair of Laura and Logan.

"It's about time you got here!" Jean said with a grin as she ran to give them each a hug.

"Sorry darling" Logan said with a gruff smile. "We got a bit hung up back in Washington."

"You mean _you_ overslept" Laura said slyly as she and a boy about her age climbed off the bike.

"Who's this?" Scott asked.

"My names Nathan Dayspring" he said with a smile as he shook Scott's hand. He wore a blue jacket, had bright blue eyes, and a snow white streak in his hair. "I'm a mutant, and I heard what was happening up here. So when I ran into these two they offered me a lift".

"Well that was nice at them" smiling oddly at Logan, it was rather odd for him to pick up hitchhikers.

"You got here just in time, we're about to start" Scott said as he turned towards the school entrance.

**LINEBREAK**

The psychic plane is a vast field of emptiness, but it was also filled to the brim with pure energy. This was energy at its purest form, and it had no limits, it could do anything, literally. Only psychics of the highest caliber could enter it directly, and only five people in any time have ever been powerful enough to harness its powers, and only three had harness more than a tiny fraction.

The field of energy rippled as a being clad in silver armor pierced his way in, scattering trillions of particles each with enough power to destroy several worlds.

Stryfe smiled as he felt his power melding with the plane around him, as he gathered its power. His left eye flashed beneath his helmet, and a shadowy globe appeared before him, covered in tiny glowing pin pricks, one for every life on its surface.

It twisted and turned before him as he searched for a single being. Not a human being, well, not exactly. She was somewhat human, although spending more than forty years clinging to a sewer wall in a mass of cells loosely held together by sheer will power, you can't quite considered human.

A single light burst forward in a purple haze, he'd found her. And where had he found a mass of incredibly powerful psychic cells? New York of course, home of countless super powered beings, as well as the birth place of Charles Xavier.

"Why hello there, Cassandra" he whispered as a smirk twitched across his features. Her power was strong, but wild, untamed by any sort of conscious thought, it was utter chaos. Perfect. Her astral state materialized, in the form of a baldheaded woman, with a dark glint in her soulless eyes.

She snarled and viciously, 'charging' at him, only to be stopped by a, invisible wall of energy.

"My, my Cassandra, someone's in a bad mood today, isn't she?" he said. "Cassandra Nova, the Mummudrai, the opposite, it suits you, although the resemblance between you and your brother is uncanny."

At the mention of the word _brother_ she hissed and writhed, purple energy crackling all around them.

"Well I can give him to you." She froze in an instant, Stryfe smiled.

**LINEBREAK  
**_ "Attention please"_ the telepathic voice of the Professor boomed through the minds of all those gathered in the auditorium.

Many people jumped in surprise, looking around wildly in all directions for the source of the voice, their heads all jerking towards the stage as the Professor, Storm and Emma Frost entered the room, Emma's students moving to the seats placed before the stage.

Everyone began to follow suit, claiming seats for their own. This was difficult for several young mutants, whose mutations were very obvious, such as being living rock or mercury, which made it impossible for them to sit down, so instead standing near the back of the room with the news crews. Atop the stage was a long line of chairs with a gap in the center where the Professor would park his chair. Scott, Jean, Logan, Laura, and Nate entered the room abruptly, parting ways as Laura and Nate went to sit down while the others clambered onto the stage.

Storm sat down at the Professors right, smiling as Logan sat beside her, flashing a toothy grin at her. Emma sat at his left, Beast beside her. The rest of the chairs were filled by the rest of the staff, which included the original X-men, Scott, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, and Rogue, as well as several others. Colossus, who had abandoned Magneto's Acolytes after discovering that the master of magnetism new nothing of his families whereabouts, sat beside Kitty, with whom he had formed a very fast friendship. It had surprised everyone when he had volunteered for the position of art teacher. Gambit had showed up one day asking for a place to stay, and had been pouring all of his time into preparing for the assistant combat and projectile instructor. Well, all the time he wasn't using to flirt with a certain southern girl with an absorbing touch.

The most surprising of the new teachers was Wanda Maximoff. She'd arrived several weeks after her father had seized the island of Genosha, saying that she wanted nothing to do with his mutant dictatorship.

What was even more surprising than her sudden appearance at the school was that she had accepted a date with the institute's resident blue fuzzy elf, Kurt. Everyone had been surprised by the match to say the least, but the two of them seemed happy with their casual relationship, so they did nothing to interject.

It made several of the still underage New Mutants, most notably Bobby, angry that she was able to attain a teaching position when they weren't, though after a few weeks of complaining and no feedback, he gave up.

When the crowds had calmed down and taken their seats the Professor rolled himself up to the podium where stood a microphone, and began to speak.

"Welcome, everyone. I am sure you are all aware of why you are here today." He scanned the faces of the young mutants before him as he spoke, pausing for a moment on Nate in the front row, who gave off a particularly strong psychic aura. He continued.

"Mutants have long faced persecution, out of fear, out of hatred. There are those believe us to be monsters, vile creatures who will bring nothing but death and destruction. There are some of you who have been blessed with families that have accepted you for not what you are, but_ who _you are.

Yet the Majority of you are runaways, cast out of your homes for no more than being different. It is for this reason that this school has been built, to teach you survive in a world that hates and fears you. Here no one shall be turned away, for together we will work towards a world where man and mutant can peacefully co exist at last".

Cameras flashed as the hall echoed with applause, some people giving a standing ovation. Yet there were those who remained adamant, and scoffed at the idea of peace. Charles raised a hand, and silence soon followed.

"You all know of course, of Genosha, the mutant 'homeland' that has been claimed by the mutant terrorist Magneto. There was a time when I called him my friend."

Every member of the media caught this instantly, scribbling it down on notepads or noting it on recordings. Was it really possible that the great mutant activist and great mutant terrorist had once been friends?

"However Magnus grew angry, he feared that the same fate would befall mutant kind as did the Jewish people. He turned to violence and terror. Only if we can purge the poison of hatred from our hearts can we ever truly find peace in this world." There was a long dead silence, as those who heard these words began to process them.

"Now" Charles began again, this time in a much lighter tone. "I am sure that you have met our staff during the tour of the grounds, but there are two others who arrived tardy. First my I Introduce Mister Logan, our combat instructor." Wolverine lifted his hand in acknowledgement; it wasn't like him to draw attention to himself.

"And Emma Frost, who will be telepathic courses, as well as ethics." Storm had to hide a look of pure horror as Emma stood and waved to the crowd. How could_ she_ teach ethics?

"Now, we've all had a long day and classes start at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. Ladies, Miss Grey and Miss Pryde will show you to your dormitories, boys, Mister Summers and Mister Wagner will show you yours. Good day to you all".

**LINEBREAK**

"Soooooo…." Kitty began as she and Jean led the entourage of girls across the lawn to the girls dormitory building.

"Yes?" Jean replied, rising an eyebrow in slight annoyance and amusement.

"So has Scott grown a pair and asked you already?" Kitty said. Jean sighed.

"Kitty, we're only twenty, we're not at that level yet."

"Oh come on!" Kitty said exasperatedly. "We both know you'd say yes!"

"I'm not denying that, but why don't you go mess with someone else's love life for a change. Like your own for instance. I hear you have a certain Russian giant wrapped around your finger". Kitty flushed pink.

"Th-there's nothing between me and Piotr, we're just friends".

"Well he's a thousand times better than Lance, so I say go for it".

They entered the dormitory's entrance hall, which was cramped with the two x-men, all the girls and their bags. Jean peered down at a clipboard and began to call out names, and hand out room keys.

"Stepford Cuckoos".

"Yes Miss Grey" the five identical glowing eyed blondes stepped forward, took their key and vanished down the hall.

"Cessily Kincaid and Megan Gwynn". A girl with a silvery body composed entirely of mercury and a cheerful looking girl with brightly colored butterfly wings came forward and disappeared as well.

"Noriko Ashida and Sooraya Qadir." A girl with very tight leather clothing, electric blue hair, and large metal gauntlets stepped forward, as did a girl completely covered by an abaya, concealing all but her eyes.

"Great," Noriko groaned. "_I_ get paired with the girl who believes in being subservient to men".

"No", Sooraya said quietly. "It's about modesty".

"Yeah, whatever" Noriko said as she took the key and stormed down the hall. Jean sighed. This was going to be a long year.

**LINEBREAK**

"So 'ave you asked her yet?" Kurt whispered as Scott called off names, directing the boys to their rooms. "Don't deny it, I know you 'ave the ring." Scott sighed as he directed a boy who was seven feet tall, and composed entirely of rock to his room.

"I told you Kurt, when I'm ready". Kurt rolled his pupil less golden eyes.

"So, how's Wanda?" Scott asked, attempting to direct the conversation away from his love life.

"Good, Vanda's fine, but don't expect me to go proposing anytime soon, we've only been going out three months."

"I'm still surprised you asked her out in the first place" Scott said shaking his head.

"Vhy not? We were both abandoned by are parents, and turns out we both like horror films, vhat's not to like?"

Scott scrolled down to the last name on the clipboard and looked up to the two remaining boys.

"Quentin, I hope you don't mind sharing with Nathan, he just arrived today." Quentin shook his head.

"No, of course I don't mind" he said as he took the key.

Nate followed him cautiously down the hall towards their room, carefully psi-scanning every inch of the building. He felt uneasy about being paired with Kid Omega, he knew what he would/had become in his own time.

The room was medium size and had two single beds, a large bookcase and two desks. Quentin set down his suitcase and began to telekinetically unpack.

"So," he asked. "What do you do?"

"Telepathy, telekinesis, same as you" Nate replied. Quentin nodded, and seemed to become more interested in his unpacking than conversation. Nate sat down on his bed, sighing deeply.

He was here in the past, and yet he didn't know what to do. Stryfe could attack in so many different ways that it was impossible to predict which one it would be. And if he were to engage him directly, someone would inevitably get hurt.

**Ok, this chapters done. Next time I plan to bring in the rest of the main cast and reveal what their teaching positions are. Some of you may be able to tell I based this heavily on new X-men, and I'll be bringing in many of the student characters introduced in that series. Happy reading!**


	3. Plans unfold

**Ok, school sucks and is taking up a lot of my personal time. I really meant to update this earlier than I'm doing now. But don't worry I plan to update much quicker next time as well as star several of the stories swimming around in my oversized head. (it's big, not that I'm smart or anything) On with the story! Comic references galore!**

**LINEBREAK**

The constant sounds of whirring, crackling, and hissing echoed off the cold steel walls of the underground laboratory, mixing with the whispers of bubbling beakers and fuming vats. So, this is obviously the lair of a diabolical villain who conducts horrendous experiments? Well, sort of. The resident of the lab was a mad scientist, although he didn't look like the stereotypical crazy-haired, white lab coat wearing, maniacal laughing mad genius, this guy was much classier.

He was insane enough to successfully fill the role of a maniac yet was charismatic enough to pass himself off as a perfectly normal scientist with a few skeletons in his closet. His birth name was Nathaniel Essex, yet to most he was known simply as Sinister, a very fitting name. He wore a long black cloak that curled inward at the neck, his skin was dark gray, and he had black soulless eyes and oily slicked back hair.

A large computer screen was splayed on the wall in front of him, with the image of two sets of double helixes spread across it. Beneath the one on left was a name 'Scott Summers', and beneath the right was lettered 'Jean Grey' Sinister made several motions with his gloved hands, which were wired into the computer system. A single segment from each of the helixes broke away from the whole, and became one.

"And so the puzzle is completed" he whispered, smirking to himself. He clicked his fingers, and the computer hummed as it transferred its data to a large tank filled with a light blue fluid that stood against the opposite wall. He approached it, drawing from his cloak a large vial filled with a dark red gel, labeled 'Cyclops' and inserted it into one of the tanks two slots.

"And now, only one piece remains". Sinister brought his wrist to his lips and spoke into the built in communicator.

"I require an audience with Lord Magnus, at once".

**LINEBREAK**

So, picture this situation in your mind for just a moment. You are a seventeen year old boy with supernatural powers. Ok, not really a big deal if you're a mutant, but hear me out. You are a seventeen year old boy with supernatural powers so outrageously powerful that if you slip up you could end up destroying not only the world but several parallel realities in the process. Pretty stressful situation right?

Well, it gets better. You also hail from an apocalyptic future where everyone you ever loved is dead including your parents, sister, brother-in law, grandfather figure and your girlfriend.

"_Sucks to be me"_ Nate thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling of his shared bedroom. It was nighttime now, and he was so preoccupied with his thought (which he made sure to psychically shield) that he hadn't even bother to change into his pajamas. When he'd first travelled back in time he'd had a rough idea of what his plans were, but now, he had no idea what to do.

Sure, he was in the past, but what did that matter, Stryfe was here too. Knowledge of this time period didn't mean anything anymore, because with the armored psychopath around the timeline would fluctuate so much it would all be rendered meaningless. Nate turned on his side and glanced at the sleeping Quentin Quire. He just _had _to end up with him, didn't he? Although Nathan had never dealt with Kid Omega personally, since he was before his time, he'd heard the stories.

He'd gone insane due to a combination of teenage angst, mutagenic drug abuse, finding out he was adopted and unrequited love. This insanity combined with his omega-level psychic powers made him an incredible threat. _"Well"_ Nate thought. _"He won't kill anyone this time". _Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, Nate sat up.

Using the slightest amount of power, not even enough to make his eye glow; he lifted a small object from his pocket, which came to rest in his palm. It was a rosary an odd thing for him to posses considering he wasn't catholic; however it was all he had left of his best friend, and girlfriend. Nate felt the psychic residue that surrounded it, which brought images of a slender girl with large glowing yellow eyes, two-fingered hands, a tail, and blue fur.

"TJ…" he whispered.

The image faded, and he jerked back to reality. He couldn't keep dwelling on his memories. It was time to get to work. Slipping the rosary back into his pocket, he quietly stood up and made his way towards the door, looking up at the clock on the opposite wall that read 4:30 A.M. As he traversed to long corridors of the dormitory building he pulled his power into his core, as to not awaken the schools resident psychics by mistake.

It was easy to find the student lounge at the top of the building, which contained soft arm chairs, an HD TV and several couches, as well as computers that were open to student use. After booting up the console, he inserted his data storage device into one of the two USB slots on the console. The data was almost instantly loaded.

The files were vast, and contained detailed biographies of all the super teams in the world as well as their members, the Avengers, the X-men, and even a team that in this time period, had yet to be formed (at least for another year), the Runaways, which consisted of teenagers who ran away from their super villain parents. Puberty's great, isn't it? They also contained information on events relevant to the teams, as well as the world at large.

After several minutes of searching, he came to the file he was looking for.

_**Assassination of Senator Robert Kelly**_

It was this event that had started a chain reaction of events so catastrophic that the entire world would fall apart, and allow a tyrant to take over. This was what he'd come back to stop, but would preventing the future presidents death mean anything now that Stryfe was part of the equation? Would Stryfe kill Kelly, in order to cause events to proceed as they had? Or would he take an entirely different approach, and wreak havoc upon the universe in an entirely new and vindictive way?

From what Nate knew of this time, many knew foes would emerge soon, if not all at the same time. Evil counterparts, psychic entities created from the fusion of the minds of the world's most influential mutants, along with the emergence of a cosmic deity, were all things that would happen within the next three to five years.

Good god, Nate's plate was full, and he didn't even know where to start.

**LINEBREAK**

Magneto, master of magnetism and lord of Genosha sat upon his throne watching his son, Pietro, lead the black cloaked Sinister up the lengthy throne room. Along the walls stood Avalanche, Toad, Blob, and Pyro, all dressed in the uniforms of the royal guard. Progress had been rapid since he'd first founded the mutant homeland, and the island now resembled a utopia.

Many mutants had flocked here to put forth their contributions to furthering the supremacy of the mutant race, but Sinister was without question the most mysterious as well as the most interesting. Sinister was far older than he was, Magneto knew that much. Hell, he was even older than Wolverine, whose healing factor had given him a life span several times that of a normal human.

But what alluded Magneto was exactly where the ancient geneticist had come from. He had appeared out of nowhere, seeking a place to safely conduct his research free of human persecution. It seemed that now perhaps the magnetic Lord would finally get some of his questions answered.

"Mister Sinister, father" Quicksilver said, bowing deeply as Sinister knelt on one knee.

"Rise" Magneto commanded, and as Sinister rose Quicksilver had already moved to stand along the wall with his comrades.

"So, Sinister" Magneto began. "I was rather surprised when you requested an audience, you usually keep yourself hidden within your laboratory".

"It is an honor, my lord" Sinister said with the utmost respect. "You see, I require assistance with a project of mine."

"A project?" Magneto asked. Sinister nodded.

"Indeed, my Lord. For it has long since been m ambition to create the ultimate mutant." Magneto's eyebrows rose to his helmet.

"The ultimate mutant?"

"Yes. I have spent decades crossing and re-crossing the x-genes of countless mutants. But it is only recently that I have found the perfect combination." He reached into his belt and drew from it a small metal disc, which he tossed to the ground, from which it projected the image of Jean Grey.

"As I am sure you all know" Sinister said, looking from Magneto to his royal guard that had moved forward to get a closer look. "Jean Grey is possibly the most powerful psychic to ever live, with near limitless power. She has long been the center of my studies, and I have long searched for the gene that when combined with hers, would create a being of god-like power." He snapped his fingers, and the projector formed a new image.

"Scott Summers."

Magneto stared for the longest time, as did his son and his friends.

"What" he began after a long silence "is your intention for this 'ultimate mutant'?" Sinister smirked.

"I thought that was obvious, my Lord, to bring about the end of the human race." This got Magneto's attention.

"What exactly would this mutant be capable of?" he asked curiously.

"Anything my lord, all I require is the genetic material of Jean Grey". There was a long silence. Once again.

"Impossible" Magneto said shaking his head. "She is far too powerful, and is protected by her fellow X-men, as well as Charles Xavier". Sinister's smirk grew ever wider.

"But my lord, I have a solution. I have carefully studied Miss Grey, and her origins, and I have discovered something about her past that not even she herself knows. She is a twin." If Pietro wasn't equally shocked himself at this information, he would have enjoyed the rarest look of complete and utter shock upon his father's features. One Jean Grey was bad enough for their plans of world conquest, but two?

"What?"

"Indeed. Her twin goes by the name of Madelyn Pryor, and was separated from her sister at birth by a corrupt doctor who was secretly playing the illegal orphan trade, in which a healthy child is given to a wealthy family. Neither family knows of this. Her powers have not yet fully manifested, and because of this she suffers from chronic seizures. Despite this, her DNA is the same, and will be perfect for my work".

"Pietro" Magneto said to his son instantly. "Assemble your team, and bring Mister sinister his prize" he turned back to Sinister. "I'd better see results, or you will regret it." Sinister gave a deep bow, and turned, hiding his contemptuous look.

**Well, this chapters a bit shorter than I first intended it to be, but don't blame me, blame Bioshock 2 which I've been playing like mad for the last three hours. I plan to get into school life next chapter, so more of the main characters will finally get screen time. **


	4. Morning

**Well, here we go. I meant to get this up yesterday but I had to study for an AP test. Dear god that was so damn hard! I don't know how I did and I don't really want to think about it and jinx myself! I ask that if you get the time, please review. Sorry to anyone I sent messages to. Here we go!**

**LINEBREAK**

Although it was clearly beneath him, Stryfe sometimes enjoyed walking the streets of the world in astral form. It brought him great pleasure to watch the pain of the people, watch as they fought tooth and nail to survive against one another, ruining any chances for a united resistance. But this was different, he'd never walked the world of this time. He was disappointed to find that it was incredibly boring outside of New York, where virtually ever super being from here to Asgard gathered.

Even here in the slum streets of Moscow things were boring. Muggings were committed by pathetic flat-scans with no power at all. It wasn't even amusing, much less did it provide entertainment for the armored psychic. So this trip was more business than pleasure, and he walked casually down the street in the dead of night, invisible to all in astral form, carrying a sphere of glowing purple light that shrieked violently as he went.

"Calm yourself, Cassandra" he soothed the psyche he held in his palm. "I've found the perfect mind for you conceal yourself in. Ah, here we are". He came to a large cast iron gate, with Russian lettering welded atop it, identifying it as an orphanage. As he had no physical form he passed right through the gate, and casually strolled through the walls and into the building.

Stryfe passed the many beds filled with flat scan trash, seeking out the un awakened energy signature of a single girl. Coming the last bed near the door, he peered down to see a petite young girl, no older than six with golden blonde hair. Styfe smirked.

"Here we are Cassandra," he said letting the dark mind he held in his hand flow deep into the mind of the girl before him.

"Sleep well, Illyana…" he whispered. There was a slight glow as his power reached for her atoms, searching through her genetic makeup, stimulating a specific gene that could use a little _manifestation. _

**LINEBREAK**

Predictably breakfast the next morning was a dreary affair. Students were so preoccupied with being only half conscious they hadn't the time to marvel at the cafeteria. It was very large, with tables designed specifically to stay where they were and withstand any kind of superhuman interaction. Nate was familiar with this room, having eaten many meals here throughout the course of his childhood.

He passed right by the trays, instead just grabbing an apple. He wasn't very hungry, even though he literally hadn't slept at all. Taking a seat, he peered at the doorway and watched as the students flooded in. They were diverse as it was possible to be, of all sizes ages and ethnic groups. But what made them more diverse were of course their mutations. Some appeared to be regular humans, while some were huge and made of rock, or had several pairs of appendages sprouting out of their stomach.

Against the opposite wall sat a gathering of boys, one with golden skin, another with green reptilian scales, and another that looked like an earthier version of the Thing.

Nate noticed the five identical telepaths, who he knew to be called the Stepford Cuckoos, sitting at a circular table by themselves. He also noted Kid Omega sitting by himself, his tired eyes fixed on the Cuckoo leader, Sophie. It wouldn't be hard for Nate to name every student here, as well as the date and cause of their deaths.

"Hey Jubes, over here!" a loud voice called, which was a rare thing at 6:30 A.M. Bobby "Iceman" Drake pushed his way through the crowds of younger students and into the food line. Behind him was his girlfriend Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee, as well as most of the new mutants, all of whom were now seniors. The line moved quickly, and before long they joined Nate at his table.

"Hey Jay, Paige!" Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie called over his shoulder. "Come over here!" A girl with light blonde hair, about thirteen years old trotted over to them. Behind her slumped a boy slightly younger than her, with magnificent scarlet colored wings on his back.

"Hey guys, these are my siblings, Paige, and Jay" he introduced them to his friends.

"Wassup?" Bobby asked trying to sound cooler than he was.

"Hi" Paige said shyly.

"Hello" Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair said.

"Don't you have like twenty siblings, Sam?" Rahne's boyfriend Jamie "Multiple" Madrox asked with a grin.

"No, twelve" Paige said with a cheeky smile. "The rest of us aren't mutants though. Well, that or they're too young to know it yet." Nate couldn't help but snort at hearing this, as he knew perfectly well that every single one of the Guthrie's would turn up X-gene positive.

"Oh, hi there" Amara "Magma" Aquilla said, being the first to notice Nate at the end of the table. "Sorry, we didn't see you".

"It's cool", Nate replied. "I'm Nathan, Nathan Dayspring, but you can just call me Nate." Bobby, Jubilee, Jamie Paige and Sam introduced themselves, while Jay stayed quiet, staring downward.

"I've heard of most of you already, saw you on the news" Nate said, trying to act in character for this point in history.

"Yeah? Did the camera catch my good side?" Bobby asked cockily, earning him a slap upside the head from Jubilee. Everyone laughed.

"So what do you do?" Jubilee asked Nate.

"I'm telekinetic, and a telepath"

"Cool, just like Jean." She paused. "Ms Grey to you though" Jubilee told Nate.

"What's with the hair?" Jamie asked, indicating the single snow white lock that dangled in Nate's face. "It's a lot like Rogue's". The young psychic inwardly groaned. Yeah, he _really _hadn't been told that before.

"It turned white when my powers manifested" Nate answered truthfully.

"What do psychic powers have to do with your hair?" Bobby asked. Nate shrugged.

"Don't know. It just turned white. Oh, and this happened" his eye flashed briefly.

"That's cool" Paige said in awe. The concept of mutants was not new to her, but it still brought great surprise to see mutant gifts in action.

"What do you do, Paige" Amara said turning to the younger girl. She blushed, clearly embarrassed.

"I- I…… I shed my skin…." Everyone apart from Nate, Jay, and Sam stared blankly at her. Paige sighed. "I'll show you later. It's kind of hard to explain and you wouldn't want to see my powers right now anyway. Not when you're trying to eat."

"So, when did you wings grow Jay?" Jubilee asked. He looked up at her for a moment, before stalking off, leaving the remnants of his breakfast behind.

"Don't worry about him" Sam told them all. "He hasn't talked to anyone since his girlfriend died…."

Any other attempts at conversation were ended by the bell signaling the first class of the day and the semester.

**LINEBREAK**

Madelyn Pryor walked briskly across the dewy grass, bag over her shoulder, making her way towards Harvard's English building. She was an English major, and had constantly scribbled down bits and pieces of stories since she was a child. Blowing a strand of her dark red hey out of her emerald green eyes, she reached the steps.

It wasn't as hard for her to get into Harvard as you'd think.

"Morning Maddie," said the quiet voice of her friend and fellow English major Lily said tiredly.

"Morning Lil", Maddie replied. They entered the building together, walking towards the classroom. Most of the class hadn't arrived yet, allowing the two girls to get front row seats with ease.

"You okay after last night?" Lily asked. Madelyn nodded the night before she had collapsed, overwhelmed by headaches. This had happened to her for her entire life, why, she never understood.

"Yeah, thanks for carrying me back to the dorm. A jug of advil and a good rest later and I'm fine".

Bleary eyed students slowly began to file in, closely followed by the eccentric and perfectly awake Professor Kettdrek.

"Come now, everyone!" he cried cheerfully to the congregation. "Pep up! We have much to cover today, so if you'd all get out your boo-" the classroom gasped. He had vanished in an instant. The ground began to shake, toppling over desks and students alike. A great crack split the room in half, and fire began to slither its way up the walls, consuming everything around them.

Maddie turn to run, pulling Lily along with her, but she was stopped. She looked up the see a boy in a streamlined blue and white outfit with stark white hair blocking her way.

"You must be Madelyn," he said almost too fast for her to comprehend. "I suggest you come with me now, or every one of these pathetic humans dies." He didn't wait for an answer, and a fist Maddie hadn't seen coming came into contact with her temple. Everything went black.

"Blob" Pietro called, and a wall burst open revealing the obese mutant. "Take her", he said pointing down at Madelyn. Blob hoisted her not so gently over his shoulder, and Quicksilver did a very fast lap around the room, creating a gust that snuffed out the flames, as well as knocking out the humans who were still conscious.

**LINEBREAK**

Scott sat at the Danger room's control panel, glancing out the window into the room itself, which was empty apart from Logan. He could here students gathering in the room outside, knowing exactly how anxious they all must have felt. The first 'class' of the semester wasn't really a class at all, but more of an evaluation.

This would allow students their first taste of the danger room, as well as allow their schedules to be worked out.

"Is everything ready?" Jean asked as she entered the room alongside Kitty and Rogue.

"Just about" he said, turning his chair, smiling up at them.

"So, like, what simulation are they running?" Kitty asked.

"They're not, the Professor just wants them to run basic target practice and such so we can evaluate their powers."

"That is so not fair…." Kitty pouted, they all laughed. "It is! Logan ran us through the pit of death our first time!"

"Yeah, yeah" Rogue rolled her eyes, patting her gloved hand on Kitty's shoulder. "Let's get down there". They made their way out of the room, but as Scott passed, Rogue stopped him.

"You asked her yet?" she said in her heavy southern accent. Scott sighed.

"No Rogue, I haven't. I'll ask her when the time is right." His eyes twinkled under his visor. "Has Remy popped the question yet?" he asked slyly, watching Rogue's pale skin flush pink.

"There ain't nothin' between the swamp rat an' me!" she yelled stubbornly, storming out of the room. Scott shook his head. Yeah. Right.

The Danger room was more crowded than it ever was before, but it still held all the students and teachers easily. Professor X himself, however , was not present. Instead he was in his office, where each student would be sent for a brief meeting with the headmaster after being evaluated. The students chattered loudly, but were silenced by a single look from Logan. And thus, the evaluation began.

**Ok, sorry if this is a bit short, but I plan for next chapter to be much more dialogue heavy, including Nate 'meeting' the Professor face to face, as well as interactions between a lot more of the main characters. I planned to do some of that in this chapter, but I still had some stage setting to do before I could really get into the school-life stuff. Happy reading, and please review. **


	5. Flashback

**Here's the next update, hopefully I can get most of the main characters some more screen time. Please review, and above all enjoy!**

**LINEBREAK**

_Dust drifted from the ceiling of the underground tunnel as the small group quickly made their way deeper into the labyrinth that was the New York sewer system. Three of them were male, and all were roughly the same height. The legendary Wolverine lead the pack, animal instincts stretched to their limits as they sensed the surrounding area. To his ran jogged a boy about eighteen, who very much resembled him._

_He had stark white hair, a copper colored skin tone, and jagged bone claws protruded from each hand, ready to strike. The other boy, around fifteen, had messy brown hair, with a white bang that hung in his face. The fourth and final member of their group was the only female, looked the least human, and crawled across the walls. Her body was covered in blue fur, had luminous yellow eyes, and a tail that whipped around behind her. _

"_Where's the manhole you were talking about, Dad" the white haired boy asked as he leapt over part of a collapsed wall, sniffing at the air. _

"_Just up ahead, Daken" Wolverine said, addressing his son. "It should lead us right to the Mastermold." They turned down a narrow corridor, and came to a wrought iron ladder built into the wall, tiny beams of light shining out from the edges of the manhole cover above them._

"_Nocturne, you go first, check the perimeter up there" he told the blue girl on the wall. _

"_You got it" she said with a fanged grin before nimbly leaping off the wall and scurrying up the ladder with her four fingered hands and three fingered feet. She slinked out of the manhole and out into the rubble strewn street. Merely three hundred feet away stood the gates of a gargantuan fortress which cast huge shadows over the remains of what was once Manhattan. _

"_We're good!" Nocturne called in an urgent whisper down the manhole. Wolverine and Daken clambered out of the hole, and Nate floated up behind them, eye glowing faintly. Then they ran, diving beneath the nearest rocky outcrop that was once a skyscraper. Wolverine called them, and they all huddled around him. _

"_Ok kids, this is it. The Mastermold is in there, we take it out, and the sentinels all come down with it." He threw down a holo-disc at his feet, and the ghostly image of the interior of the fortress was projected before them. It wasn't a perfect hologram, many details were missing, but it had what they needed. _

"_Can't I just take the whole this down?" Nate asked, his fist clenching and the bits of rubble around them beginning to float in circles around them. Nocturne placed her four fingered hand on his shoulder, and the rubble fell back to the ground. He smiled gratefully at her, kissing her on the cheek. _

"_No" Wolverine answered. "If you were to do that the Mastermold would be able to repair itself. We have to deactivate it manually. And when we get out of there, you two can get a room." The two youngest of their party blushed bright pink, bringing forth chuckles from the two clawed warriors. But it only lasted for a moment before Wolverines stony expression returned. _

"_Talia, you possess one of the guards and take Nate inside to the cellblock. The make your way here." He pointed to a room in the hologram. "And deactivate the security systems. That should release Nate, and cause enough chaos for us to get inside."_

"_Daken" he turned to his son. "I want you to summon as many animals as you can preferably something fierce, wolves maybe." Daken nodded and took a deep breath. A breeze seemed to gather within the ruins and his white mane flew back, his eyes burning bright white. His neck craned backward, and he let out a low, long sounding howl, thunder clapped in the background, and the wind grew louder and fiercer. _

_The sound echoed around them, before fading from their ears. They waited in silence for nearly ten minutes before nearly three dozen wolves, and two bears came padding into the enclosure, their eyes all matching Daken's._

"_Have them wait here, and call them in once things start to go down."_

"_Well, this is all surprisingly simple" Nocturne/Talia said. "Let's get started." She gave her boyfriend one last kiss before disappearing into the shadows. Nate took his place at the gates, and within ten minutes an armored guard that looked somewhat robotic approached, it's only visible difference from its brothers were its glowing yellow eyes. _

"_You ready?" the guard asked in two voices at once, one cold and metallic, the other belonging to Nocturne._

"Hey kid, you're up!" Nate startled suddenly, and looked up. He had fallen asleep sitting against the wall of the chamber adjacent to the danger room, he was dreaming in memory again.

**LINEBREAK**

"Hello, Professor".

"Ah, hello there, Mr. Borkowski" the Professor replied as the green reptilian teenager stepped into his office and sat down in the chair before his desk.

"Please, sir, just Victor" the teen said meekly. As he spoke the Professor could see that his tongue was long and prehensile, like that of a frog. He clicked away at the keyboard terminal on his desk, which was at that very moment being fed information from the danger room orientations, and pulled up Victor's recently uploaded file.

"So, Victor, it says here that you were born with your powers?" This was a rare mutant trait, though it was not unheard of, Kurt was the perfect example, as he had been born fury and elf like. Victor nodded.

"Yes sir, my home town accepted me for who I was, and I had a normal life. But then….." he paused, looking down at his feet. "Then things started changing, and my parents decided it would be safer for me here." He said this sounding very depressed that he had been forced to leave his home, even if it was for his own safety

"I can assure you that I will do all I can to make you feel at home here, Victor, all you need to do is ask." Victor smiled gratefully. The Professor glanced back at the boy's profile, quickly reading the section that listed his powers/mutation, other than the obvious reptilian scales.

"Your abilities seem to be very similar to that of a chameleon, if you don't mind me saying so." Victor shook his head. He was told that all the time. "Camouflage, prehensile tongue, scales, and the ability to adhere to flat surfaces. I've decided to give you the codename Anole, the name of a species of chameleon, unless of course, you'd rather be called something else?"

"I like it" Victor said truthfully. "Thank you Professor. Do you mind if ask you something though?"

"Of course not, ask away."

"I'm interested in acting, will there be a drama course this semester?" The professor nodded, smiling.

"Indeed, Mr. Wagner will be teaching drama, I'll be sure to add you to his class list".

"Thank you sir!" Victor/Anole said excitedly, bid the Professor farewell, and departed out the doorway. Charles smiled inwardly; he enjoyed these interviews very much. It seemed that the academy was having a very good beginning, and he hoped that things would continue to go successfully from here on out. The computer gave off a beep as the next students profile was uploaded.

**Lorna Dane. **The image of a scowling girl with shoulder length green hair appeared on the screen. The file indicated that she did not wish to be interviewed. It also indicated that her power was that over magnetism. Charles found this most intriguing, though it was probably just a coincidence.

**Nathan Dayspring**, the file read. There wasn't any real biographical information there, because the boy had only showed up the day before. However, there was information of his powers gathered from his recent orientation, and his raw psychic energy output astounded even the Professor. _So, it was his presence I felt yesterday… _he thought to himself. Then he felt it again, and looked up to see the door open and Nathan enter the room. There was something familiar about his aura…

"Welcome" he greeted the boy kindly. "Please, have a seat." Nate sat down.

"Do you mind tell me a little about yourself?" he asked. "Your evaluation shows me you have a masterful amount of control, have you received previous training for you gifts?"

"Yes sir, my mother and older sister were both psychics, they taught me until they died." The Professors face turned grim.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright, you didn't know" Nate said. "My mom died when I was eleven, and then my dad and sister were killed by an anti mutant group a couple years later. I was on my own, but then I heard about this place". He glanced around the office in a very convincing bit of acting, looking impressed. "I think I'm going to like it here". The Professor smiled.

"I'm glad. You should be getting your schedule later this afternoon. Off with you now, I'm sure you have more interesting things to be doing that talking with an old man like me."

**LINEBREAK**

"I thought I'd find ya here" Rogue said as she entered the art room. It was a large spacious chamber that had desks set on several tier like steps and the teachers desk at the bottom. Easels were set up everywhere, and the walls were lined with boxes of paint other supplies. Kitty sat beside the door, watching as Piotr continued to set up his classroom.

"Yeah, well I'm surprised you're not helping Gambit set up targets outside" Kitty said with a cheeky grin.

"Why does everyone think I have a thing for the Cajun?!" Rogue yelled irritably, throwing her arms up in exasperation. Kitty laughed, yeah, everyone _thought _she had a thing for Gambit. There was a low thud as Piotr set down a pile of boxes so large no regular man could carry them all at once, then again, he was a titan of a man, even in his fleshy form.

"You doing well, Piotr?" Rogue said as the Russian giant approached them.

"Da" he responded in his thickly accented voice. "Katya is very good company." Rogue suppressed a laugh as Kitty's face turned pink. She personally hoped that her friend would get together with their new teammate. As long as he wasn't Avalanche, Colossus was good in her book.

"I never thought of you as a painter" Rogue said. Colossus shrugged, and walked to the corner of the room where he picked up a half finished canvas, and placed it on a nearby easel. On it was a beautiful depiction of a young girl with bright blonde hair, and baby blue eyes that could melt even the coldest heart.

"Who's that?" Rogue asked.

"Illyana….my sister…." He replied. "She and my parents disappeared, and now…. She's gone…." He looked about ready to break down crying, and Kitty wrapped a comforting arm around his massive shoulders.

**LINEBREAK**

"Got your lesson plans all ready?" Scott asked Jean as he sprawled out on the queen sized bed the couple shared. Jean sat at the desk beside the window, sorting out her newly formed class lists for the next day.

"Almost" she replied. "You?"

"Yep" he said yawning. "I'm jealous, you get to teach telekinetic class and English, all I get is politics and economics. Too bad there are no kids here with eye beams this semester." He didn't really sound jealous, and his tone was a playful. Jean smiled.

"I've only got one telekinetic class and it only has five students. And on top of that, only two of them have enough power to go too far beyond the basics."

"Quire and Dayspring, right?" he said recalling the mornings evaluations. "They're really powerful, especially Nathan, he doesn't seem like he needs any training at all."

"He kind of looks like you" Jean said thoughtfully. Scott sat up to look at her.

"Come on, I don't have any white hair, and my eyes aren't blue, their glowing red."

"Just saying" Jean said cheekily as she rose from the desk and crawled onto the bed beside him. "So anything you want to do before we become burdened with the joys of teaching?" Scott grinned.

"I can think of a few things" and with that, they let their passion run loose.


	6. Mastermolds and Magik

**Well, here it goes. There's going to be more of Nate's past in this one, and the introduction of a character I've been meaning to put in for a while now. Comic readers will understand who he is immediately, but it will take a bit of explaining to show what role he has in this particular story. I'm really sorry about how long this took, so here we go.**

**LINEBREA****K**

Rampant footsteps broke the silence of the night as Colossus thundered through the halls of the institute, his heavy feet pounding the ground, Kitty having to run to keep up with his much longer stride.

"Piotr, wait up!" she squeaked, but the Russian giant did not slow down.

"I cannot, Katya,' he said in a stony voice, not turning to face her. "I 'ave to know…. I 'ave to know if it is her."

He turned a corner, and Kitty opted to phase through the adjacent rooms to catch up with him, rather than having to sprint. She caught up with him, and saw his face, filled with desperation, and ultimately, hope. They came to the elevator that went to the lower level, where they met Jean and Scott, both looking thoroughly tired.

"You two are avake?" Piotr asked them, appearing surprised. "I apologize if I voke you up."

"It's ok," Scott told him. "We were up anyway."

"Still having nightmares?" Kitty asked Jean, whose eyes immediately went to the ground.

"The same damn one every night" she spat bitterly. "Screams and then fire. It's always the same. " There was a bit of an awkward silence after this, no one knew what to say. Scott put a comforting arm around her.

"Come on, let's get downstairs and check cerebro, I hope it really is your sister, Piotr, we'd all love to meet her."

They all piled into the elevator and rode it down to the lower levels where cerebro, the laboratory, and the x-men base of operations all resided. Entering the cerebro chamber, they met the Professor, Beast, and Emma Frost.

"Good evening, darlings" Emma said in a cool tone. It didn't look as though she had gone to bed at all, her hair still in perfect order.

"What are you doing up?" Kitty asked with a sneer. She had barely known Emma a day, and already she had come to dislike the cold bitch just as much as Storm. "Don't you need you beauty sleep or something?" Emma smiled.

"I'm fine, darling. But don't you need your sleep? After all, puberty has to hit sooner or later." Kitty dove at the Frost, but Jean caught her by the shoulder.

"Ladies, please" the Professor said calmly. He turned to Piotr. "Emma and I have re scanned cerebro several times and gotten a firm lock on the new manifestations genetic signature. Hank," he turned to Beast.

"I've compared the new x-gene to yours, Piotr, and I've been able to determine that it is indeed, Illyana." Piotr turned on his heel for the door, eyes flashing with determination.

"I'll get the jet ready" Scott said as he followed him out the door. "You two coming?" he asked Jean and Kitty, both nodded.

"I'll come along too" said Emma. "I haven't been to Russia in years, and besides" she smiled coyly at the Professor. "When I was a student here, we didn't have a jet."

**LINEBREAK**

_Nate stumbled slightly as the guard, currently possessed by Nocturne, led him through fortresses the cold gray corridors. His hands were bound behind his back in thick iron cuffs that stretched from his hands to his elbow joint, restraining his arms entirely. Around his neck was a metallic suppresser collar that was designed to negate mutant powers. However, Nocturne had purposely neglected to switch his on. _

_They approached the cell block, a long hall lined with shimmering plasma doors, each containing a mutant prisoner. Nate was roughly shoved into the nearest cell, Nocturne was really playing her part well. The cuffs fell off as the plasma resealed behind him. _

"_Ok" he said to her telepathically "You find a way to open and the cells, and a way to let Logan and Dirk in." The guard nodded, and his eyes briefly flashed cat yellow beneath his helmet. _

"_Right" she thought back. "Get into contact with rest of the prisoners, tell them to be ready to run for it. The more mayhem, the easier it will be to get to the mastermold." She turned to leave, but turned back and thought "I love you."_

"_I love you too, TJ" he though back. _

_He waited for a few several moments until her echoing footsteps faded before setting to work. He concentrated hard, making sure that his eye did not glow when he tapped into his power, letting his telepathic voice echo throughout the cell blocks._

"_Everybody listen up! There's gonna be a break out within the hour. All I ask is that you don't go down without a fight. If everything goes as planned, this nightmare will end once and for all… Outside you'll find a pack of animals with glowing eyes, follow them, they'll lead you to safety. "_

**LINEBREAK**

"_This way!" Nocturne whispered in the gravelly voice of her host. Wolverine and Daken followed her down the hall, their claws unsheathed, ready to fight. She drew the pistol from her belt and with a few easy energy shots the cameras that dotted the next corridor were reduced to smoldering ash on the ground. _

_She gestured to the two warriors, and led them down the hall and into a square room with glass windows that overlooked the lower cell block. The walls were lined with terminals, all with screens that constantly displayed binary codes that no one could easily understand. Logan stepped up to the largest of the terminals which had a large oval monitor and a palm reader for identification. _

_Wolverine waved his wrist at Daken. Daken reached down and slit of the lower portion of his pant leg. Unrolling it revealed a variety of small tools. Taking these, Logan set to work, easily prying the terminals outer shell off revealing it's inner wiring. _

"_Will we be able to shut mastermold down from here?" Daken whispered so quietly only Wolverine's heightened senses would be able to hear it. _

"_No" he whispered back. "There's a failsafe built in. We have to destroy it manually. Gotta wait until the break out starts though, Nate's closer to it, and he's the only one of us with enough power to take down something that big that quickly." His skilled fingers moved nimbly through the wiring, until he pulled out a very large, very thick black cord. _

"_Get ready to go, when the cells go down, the alarms gonna go off." They nodded, and Nocturne cast aside the guard she was possessing, leaving him unconscious at her feet. Wolverine raised his hand, and with a single stroke of his metallic claws, the cord was broken. _

_The fortress exploded with deafening noise, red lights flashed though the halls, and the guards charged through the halls, guns raised. _

"_Let's get out of here!" a voice cried through the halls. The three X-men looked up to see a bearded man and a brunette girl crawling along the ceiling, a mob of mutants running behind them. Wolverine smirked. _

"_I always liked the Parkers, way to go webheads."_

"_You ready?" Nate's voice echoed in their head. The terminal rooms back wall crumbled, the glowing eyed psychic entered. Without another word the x-men entered the madness of the hallway, Nocturne crawled on the ceiling, Nate floated above the crowds heads, and Wolverine and his son shoved their way through. Very classy. _

"_I've got a psi-scan of the place" Nate told them as they darted through the complex, easily dispatching any meager opposition the security force could offer. "The molds in the central chamber, directly next to the sentinel construction line." Wolverine smirked._

"_It's always in the center, isn't it?"_

_The corridor widened, lights began to flicker into life along the walls, brining the gargantuan blast door at the end of the hall into sight. Nate's eyed glowed, and with a wave of his hand the steel crumpled in upon itself. The four of them now found themselves looking out upon what appeared to be a factory taken directly out of a science fiction film._

_Robots. Giant robots. How cliché is that? Cliché or not, the sentinels were not something to joke about. They varied in height from fifty feet to two-hundred, depending on the model and whether or not they were a specialized model. They all had the same colored scheme; dark violet and reddish pink, and had stony face panels with cold, soulless eyes. _

_Looking past the rows and rows of regular sentinels they could see their target. The Mastermold stood in the center of the room, towering over even the tallest of his counterparts. It's surface consisted of steam-lined silvery panels, reflecting the light coming from the lights on the ceiling. It distinctly resembled a transformer, but had no car par aphelia attached to it. _

_The eyes burned a deep mechanical crimson, and wires ran all the body. It was the commander and the blueprint of all the others. If it went down, so would the others. A great creak echoed through the room as every sentinels head turned to look at them. _

"_Oh crap" said nocturne, taking a step backward. _

"_Don't move" Wolverine whispered, staring up at the giants. "Wait. They're going to try and identify us." _

_**MUTANT GENE DETECTED **__the Mastermold's voice rumbled gravelly._

_**JAMES HOWLETT III /A.K.A/ LOGAN/ A.K.A /WOLVERINE  
BETA LEVEL- ACCELERATED HEALING/BONE CLAWS COATED IN ADIMANTIUM **_

_**DIRK LOGAN/ A.K.A/ DAKEN  
BETA LEVEL- ACCELERATED HEALING/BONE CLAWS/PSIONIC CONTROL OF ANIMALS/LIMITED LIGHTNING PROFECTION**_

"_Why are we waiting?" Nate hissed. _

"_Wait for my mark" Wolverine said back. "Then give it all you've got."_

_**TALIA JOSEPHINE WAGNER/ A.K.A/ NOCTURNE  
GAMMA LEVEL- PHYSICAL POSSESION OF ORGANIC BEING FOR A SINGLE LUNAR CYCLE/ EXTRA DIMENSIONAL HEX-BOLTS**_

_**NATHAN SUMMERS  
OMEGA LEVEL- TELEKENESIS/ TELEPATHY/ VIRTUALLY LIMITLES CONTROL OF ALL ENERGY AND MATTER**_

_**PROCCESSING DATA……. MISSION: DESTROY**_

"_NOW!" Wolverine howled. At that exact moment a barrage of lasers and explosive material erupted forth from the sentinels. Nate raised his hands instinctively, fingers trembling under his own might. The projectiles froze in midair, held in place by Nathans will. _

"_GO!" Logan yelled at the other two and the three remaining mutants split in separate directions. Father and son leapt off of the platform, plunging their weapons into the steel craniums as the behemoths flailed their limbs wildly in attempt to fling them off. Nocturne took to the ceiling, firing purplish plasma from her hands, burning holes in the robots chassis'. While doing this they acrobatically weaved between the floating projectiles, still held by Nate. His eye was flaring._

_He moved his hand closer together, cupping them. The energy floated together, becoming a single entity of glowing hissing light. The explosive missiles began to disassemble, the useless metal covering falling to the ground as the powdery components that gave missiles their kick came forth to join the energy. _

"_Move!" he cried as he thrust his hands forward, reaching forth with his mind, expanding a telekinetic bubble that pushed his allies out of harm's way. The hit was direct, the plasma began to melt away at the Mastermold's out layer of armor as it stumbled forward, unleashing all its fiery wrath. Nate rose into the air. The sentinels were resistant to their own attacks, and now the whole lot of them had abandoned their other mutant opponents, all turning to him. _

"_Hit me!" he cried to his companions bellow who could now do little more than watch helplessly. They knew what he meant, and Nocturne let forth a flurry of bolts which Nate gathered around him, harnessing as much energy he could from everywhere possible. Daken took a deep breath, his eyes turned white, his muscles contracted, and he let loose a jagged bolt of lightning, which joined the hex bolts in their orbit around Nate._

_The sentinels were advancing, and Nate knew he had second to gather enough power to end it. Rips formed around him, his entire body shaking as he tore away the molecular structure of the air around him, tapping into the pure psychic energy of the astral plane. The earth began to tremble. Energy began to change, filling his body._

_But then something strange happened. A psychic signature suddenly blipped his senses. It was huge, equal to his, but wilder, less restrained, with no attempt to hold it back. The building began to tear itself apart, the walls and ceiling cast into the air. Wolverine had his claws dug into the ground, Nocturne and Daken holding on desperately to his legs. _

_The sentinels began to writhe where they stood, as did the Mastermold. Particles flew from them as their very molecular structure began to undo itself. His senses could feel the atoms gathering, and feel them about to split. He did all he could think to do, using the mass of energy around him to shield himself and his allies. It wouldn't be enough, he wasn't quick enough. _

_Blinding light flashed as the atomic explosion ruptured through the remains of the building. His shield began to falter, but suddenly he felt new energy flow through him, a hand was on his shoulder. The light cleared, and Nate found himself on his knees in a crater, Wolverine, Daken, and Nocturne in a heap to his side. He looked up, and saw the owner of the hand on his shoulder._

_He was huge, easily seven feet tall. Appearing old, elderly yet middle aged at the same time the man had snow white hair, huge muscles that pressed at the tight blue spandex covering his chest. His left hand on Nathans shoulder was made entirely out of metal, as is nearly the entire left half of his body. His left eyed glowed gold, and in his fleshy right hand he held a metallic spear with a blazing tip._

"_Who- who are you" Nate choked out. _

"_I'm Cable" the old man replied, looking at where the Mastermold once stood. Cable swung the spear high above his head, pointing it in front of himself._

"_Come out and fight, Stryfe!" he bellowed. A low chuckle pierced the air, and the armored psychic appeared in front of them._

**LINEBREAK**

Nate sat up in bed, head spinning with the memory of the moment that would define the rest of his life. He peered at the clock. Not even two yet. He groaned, and fell back in vain attempt to reclaim sleep.

**Next update will be faster, and will have more in it. I'm trying to speed things up, because not much has happened yet. And yes, I did just bring Cable in. How? You'll see. Also look for a new fic I'm starting about Cable. It takes place right after mutants became exposed, and will of course revolve around time travel. It's Cable, how couldn't it?**


	7. The watcher

A single structure stands solitary on the lunar surface. It was magnificent citadel, serving as the home and base to a very strange man. Some might call him 'the man in the moon', although most people would ignore the fact that he lived on the moon and instead comment on his twenty foot height and massive forehead. Uatu wore a green cape that looked like something out of Dracula, white robes, and had piercing eyes that lacked pupils.

He stood away from his citadel, eyes fixed on the bluish green planet in the distance, watching. Well, of course he watched it, he was in fact, the Watcher. Omniscience was his races gift, they knew all, and saw all on the planets they swore to observe, observe, but never interfere. A plume of white flames sprouted from nothingness behind him, and he sense a woman walk to his side.

"Hello, Uatu."

"Greetings, Phoenix" Uatu replied. The woman had bright green eyes, red flowing hair, and a dazzling white outfit with a golden bird on the chest. Power radiated from her every pore, as did fire, twisting its way around her form, emanating from her very soul. She looked up at the cosmos that surrounded them, like tiny beacons that marked the paths between galaxies.

"What do you see?" she asked him.

"Your son is very determined" Uatu said, not breaking his gaze from the earth. "He truly believes that his world may be saved." The Phoenix raised an eyebrow, yet a small smile was still on her lips.

"And you do not?" The watcher turned to look at her.

"You know human race was never meant to last forever. The celestials are on their way, and you are fully aware that it is not your place to interfere." She shook her head in agreement.

"No, but it is Nathans place. You underestimate the determination of my friends, Uatu." She looked back at the earth for a moment. "Do you truly believe that Nate will fail, even with the aid of the X-men, and my counterpart?" He remained silent, and the White Phoenix of the crown sighed sadly, and spoke once again.

"They are fools, and the followers of an even greater fool. Xavier's dream, though good intentioned it is, can never be more than a dream. The human race is incapable of peace, the savage; the hostility within them is far too strong."

"Yes", she agreed. "Mankind does have a dark side too it, the impulses of greed and hatred are very much a part of their being. But what of goodness, Uatu, what of the morals that inhabit the human soul?"

"Out of all beings, Phoenix, I'd have thought you to be one who understood. "'Good and evil', are nothing more than an illusion conjured up by the sapien psyche in order to explain what they do not understand." He paused for the briefest of moments. "You are the nexus of all things, and yet you truly do not understand this? Does your past humanity bind you to these meaningless concepts". To his surprise, she chuckled.

"Perhaps it is that I choose to misunderstand that defines my perception of such things. And concerning my past humanity, it is still who I am. I am always Jean Grey, and I am always Phoenix. I do not request your help, for I know you are unable to give it. I simply ask that you let my son make his own fate, and not force him to adhere to the one you foresee." With that the Phoenix departed, leaving the aged Watcher alone at his post.

**LINEBREAK**

Magneto watched intently as Quicksilver and his team entered Sinister's sinister laboratory. Blob was in front, with the unconscious red head slung over his bulbous shoulder. Madelyne looked exactly like her sister, they may have never met each other or know of each other's existence, but they were still identical twins.

Blob roughly plopped the comatose girl rather roughly onto the stainless steel examination table in the center of the lab amongst whirring instruments and beeping machines. A look of pure ecstasy had appeared on Sinster's disturbing features, and he had rushed forth to have a closer look at his newest guinea pig. There was a long silence as Pietro and the others stood awkwardly around the table, Magneto leaning against the wall.

"Umm, Doc?" Toad said peevishly, finally breaking the tension built up in the room. "I'm just wonderin', how does havin' her let ya create the ultimate mutant? Does the recipe call for a hot chick?"

All the boys laughed, and Sinister let out a dry chuckle, looking up from his specimen. He did not speak, but simply strode pensively over to something large and cylindrical, covered in a dusty papyrus colored cloth. He whipped it off, revealing a large tank, full of clear liquid. In the center floated a pitch black crystal, reflecting beams of light from the flickering bulbs hanging from the low ceiling.

"Her genetics, dear boy. She bears the same genetic code as her sister, and despite the fact that her power has yet to manifest itself, she still has the same incredible psychic power as Jean Grey." Toad stared for a moment, only understanding half of what the scientist had said, which was still twice what Blob could comprehend.

"I must now ask that you leave me to my work. I thank you all for your help, but I simply cannot have any more delays."

"Come on, let's play some pool!" Toad said bouncing out the door.

"I call the good cue!" Avalanche called, chasing after him, only to have Pietro zip past him at the speed of sound. Magneto couldn't help but role his eyes as the rest of the team ran after them, for an 'elite' mutant strike team, they were the least mature teens he'd ever met. If only Wanda hadn't left, then he'd at least have someone with moderate intelligence to continue his line.

Exiting the lab, he made his way back to the throne room, floating several inches above the ground. Where would this project of Sinister's lead Genosha, as well as mutant kind? These though permeated deep within his mind as he went, taking so much of his attention that he didn't notice the ghostly image of a man in wheelchair appear beside him.

"Hello, Erik." Magneto started in midair, slowly regained his posture, and then turned.

"Yes, Charles? Have you grown bored of the academic life and have finally come to join me on my conquest for mutant rights."

"Not quite Erik, and I do not believe that laying siege to and conquering an island qualify as a conquest for the rights of our kind."

"I simply did what was necessary, my friend. Our moment is upon us, and I intend to seize it." The Professor let out a breath of melancholy. Magneto was his friend, his oldest friend apart from Moira McTaggert, but Erik's radical actions continued to make it more and more difficult for the friendship to survive.

It was a tiresome relationship, and it required an insurmountable amount of patience that could only be attained through many years of mental exercise. Friendships that consist of three parts battling each other's ideals and two parts playing chess afterwards had their way of wearing down ones brain, even that of a telepathic genius.

"I'm afraid I lack the time to argue philosophy with you today, Erik" Charles said, keeping to his usual polite and diplomatic mannerisms. "I've come for answers."

"Answers Charles? What information could you possibly need of me?" the Professor inhaled deeply.

"Have you ever met a woman named Susana Dane?" Magneto stared.

"Years ago, but why on earth are you asking such a question?" Charles face fell, and his hands shot up to rub his temples, it was just as he feared. With a wave of a hand he conjured up an astral image of about fourteen years old, Lorna Dane.

"You have a daughter, Erik; her powers are exactly the same as yours. I've tested her blood, it's a perfect match." Magneto remained silent for the longest time before eventually saying.

"Does Wanda know?"

"No, I did not wish to interrupt her preparations for her first class, and I wanted to ask whether or not you wished me to tell her." He looked closely for any signs of emotion on the Genoshan lords face, finding none.

"Why….why didn't Susana tell me?" he asked himself more than anyone else.

'Now Erik, you know you have quite the negative reputation, what mother would want her child meeting a terrorist?"

**LINEBREAK**

"Watch this, brother!" the young Illayana Ratsputin squealed happily as she ran circuits around her brother's art room. She clapped her hands together, pushed them forward, and a glowing yellow circle appeared on the floor at her feet. She stepped into the circle, and with a loud pop she appeared beside the doorway. Piotr and Kitty laughed at her enthusiasm.

Even though she'd arrived at the institute at four A.M and barely gotten any sleep, she was brimming with life. Who wouldn't be after being reunited with her brother and taken away from a run-down Russian orphanage?

"You soooo cute!" Kitty said scooping the small girl into her arms, who giggle in response. Colossus smiled.

"Do you like it 'ere, my little snowflake?" he asked his sister, who blushed at being called by her nickname. "I don't like the way that orphanage looked" he added darkly. Her mouth opened to respond, but the strangest feeling washed over her. Her head began to spin, hers eyes became unfocused, and she could've swore she heard a voice inside her head.

"_Time to come out, Cassandra…" _

"Are you alright, Illyana?" her brother asked looking concerned.

"I-I'm fine" she stammered. "Which way is the washroom?"

"Third door on your left," Kitty said. And so the young Russian pattered away, her eyes briefly flashing a sickly shade of violet.

"That, was like weird," Kitty said. "I'm really glad we found her, Piotr, you must be so happy." He nodded.

"More than you know, Katya. Since my parents were killed, and my brother died, she is all that I 'ave left."

"I didn't know you had a brother," Kitty said in a genuinely shocked tone.

"He was a cosmonaut, he was killed in an explosion upon reentering the atmosphere." He looked up. "But that is all in the past now, da? I have Illyana, as long as she is 'appy, so am I."

**LINEBREAK**

Cassandra liked this body, it was her first true physical form after all. Moving the small hands she felt the girl's power to rip through dimensions course through her. She smirked. Making her way through the school she came to the elevator to the lower level, where lay her goal. Cerebra.

**This isnt as long as I intended, but I wanted to get something out since it's been awhile. Things are starting to speed up, and the plot will begin to unravel very, very soon. **


	8. Field trip

_Nate had no idea what was going on, his mind was unable to process it. Here he was on his knees in a newly formed crater, his comrades sprawled on the sidelines alongside the remains of dozens of giant sentinels, and a man with a metal arm and an oversized spear with a glowing tip standing above him. Even by X-men standards, this was not normal. The armored figure chuckled lightly as he made his way through the dust, floating merely an inch above the ground._

"_So this is when you choose to reveal yourself, Cable? You choose now to stop playing messiah and show your face?"_

"_You're one to talk" the man called Cable shot back gruffly, and tightening on Nate's shoulder. "All you've done is manipulate the weak willed into fighting for you. Even with all your power, you're nothing more than a coward." _

"_Am I? I'm simply using what resources I have at my disposal, nothing more, and nothing less. It isn't my fault I found it unnecessary to step in myself when my underlings were capable of executing my father's plans." Cable's face wrinkled with fury at the mention of Stryfe's 'father'._

"_So this is little Nathan" Stryfe said in an eerily whimsical, singsong voice as his gaze fell upon the young mutant."The resemblance between the two of you is uncanny, even in your old age, Cable."_

'_Resemblance?' Nate thought as he looked up at the metal armed man. He did look like him, a lot like him. All Cable had to do was loose the metal, get roughly forty years younger and loose the half ton of muscle and he'd look just like him. _

"_Who are you?" he asked Stryfe, straining his mind to bring his powers back to the surface, which was hard due to exhaustion. _

"_I'm awful with introduction, why don't you tell him?" He said to Cable. "After all, you still haven't properly introduced yourself."_

"_No, no introductions Stryfe. This is between you and me, I won't let you bring them into this." Roughly shoving Nate backward, he sent him flying backward to land beside Wolverine, Daken, and Nocturne, and charging forward like some sort of cybernetic jouster, spear thrust in front of him like a lance. _

"_What the fuck…" Nate heard Wolverine say as he crawled beside him, looking towards the battle. _

"_I don't know which one to root for, if either of them" Nocturne whispered. _

_Stryfe's armored hand rose, and flickered with energy as the tip of Cable's spear collided with the palm. A great bubble invisible forced ripped through the clearing. The two clawed x-men stabbed their weapons into the ground, Nate's eye glowed with power as he kept himself from flying away, and he felt nocturne's prehensile tail wrap around his leg. _

"_Charge in for the kill, is that really all the Askani taught you?" Stryfe asked thoughtfully, cocking his covered head to the side peevishly. "I would have that thought that a clan of warriors who'd sworn their lives away for the single goal of protecting and training you would come up with something a bit more effective than that." Cable lurched forward, attempting to slam his metal fist into his foe. Stryfe caught it, straining slightly with the impact, but effortlessly pushing it back as he let his telekinesis take over for his muscles. _

"_It's such a pity you were infected with that troublesome techno-virus. You could have been such a formidable opponent if most of your power wasn't used to keep it in check. Stylish or not, that arm is useless against the raw psychic energy you could have wielded."_

"_Could have wielded, Stryfe? It may be true I have to ration it, but I have just as much power as you do." With a click the spear retracted into a tiny cylindrical form, which then folded into a compartment within the wrist of the bionic arm. His left burst into flaming, dazzling light, the earth beginning to quake beneath his feet. _

"_Do you truly wish to fight me?" Stryfe asked, as if chastising a child for breaking the most minor of taboos. "Do you want the same to happen to them that happened to them that happened to the rest of your clan, including you oh so courageous leader?" These were rhetorical questions; they were going to fight, destined to duel no matter what either of them said. _

_The two of them rocketed into the air, energy of all forms bursting from their hands and snaking their way around their limbs. Wolverine had stood up, pulling his son to his feet beside him. _

"_Ok" he said to them, looking briefly over at Nate, who had helped Nocturne to her feet, and then looking upward at the battling psychics. "Here's what we do-"_

"_**Oh really Logan?**__" the cool calm voice of Stryfe foamed into their conscious thoughts. "__**Now, now Wolverine, it's rude to interrupt someone when their fighting. No matter, I have a playmate for you. Pestilence, Death, please entertain them.**_**" **

_A pillar of light shot down from the sky, like a glorified version of the star trek teleporting machine. The light faded, and out of it stepped a giant of a man, alongside an all too familiar woman. _

"_Hello" the man said in a deep, heavily accented voice. The woman, who was bald and had what appeared to be magenta colored lightning streaming up and down her arms cackled, a look of the utmost insanity defining her features. _

"Oi, Dayspring! We're there." With a groan Nate rolled over and looked up to see the gruff side-burned face of Wolverine. He was seated awkwardly in the seat of the X-bus, leaning up against the glassy window, his eyelids still heavy with sleep.

He was getting really tired of having nightmares, at leat incomplete ones. Why couldn't they just run their horrific course for once? The other students were filling out of the vehicle, their attendance being taken on the sidewalk by Scott and Jean.

They were taking the first fieldtrip of the year, which the students thought was awesome considering they were only a week into the year. The Avengers tower gleamed high above them, like a pillar of crystal shining in the center of Manhattan.

Classes had been a surprisingly normal affair for Nate. He was right in thinking that it would be awkward being taught by younger versions of his friend's parents, but by putting the fact that he was a time traveler deep into the back of his brain then it almost seemed normal. Normal was odd though, considering he had battled psychic entities gone rogue, helped bring back his supposedly dead grandfather and uncle from being lost in space, and his mother had a cosmic bird for a soul (long story).

"Coming kid?" Wolverine called as he stepped out of the bus. "We aint got all day, I had to make special arrangements with Nick Fury to get you guys in here."

"Right, right, I'm up" Nate mumbled as he stretched out his arms, stood up, and blew his pesky white lock of hair out of his eyes. The sidewalk was crowded with a horde of students, most of them unruly, the most notable exceptions being the Cuckoos, who all stood perfectly still, awaiting orders like the teachers pets they were.

"_Everyone settle down_!" Jean transmitted into their minds telepathically. Surprisingly enough, most everyone settled down at once.

"This is really cool, isn't it?" Lorna whispered into his ear over his shoulder, a rare smile gracing her usually scowling face. It was strange sort of friendship Nate had formed with the green haired mistress of magnetism. Well it was strange for him at least, mostly because she'd grow up to marry his uncle Alex, and give birth to his cousin, Susanna, A.K.A Pulse.

He was thankful he hadn't slipped up and accidentally called her 'Aunt Lorna', or 'Aunt Polaris'.

"Come one everyone" Scott called, pushing open the clear double doors. "Mr. Fury isn't a very patient man. He had less patience than Mr. Logan, and control over the Avengers." That got them moving through the door at breakneck speed. Scott laughed, smiling over at Jean.

"This is amazing, isn't it?" she asked as they strolled side by side through the lobby, keeping behind the kids and letting Wolverine deal with the stragglers. "How did Logan get us in here for a tour anyway? I didn't think the Avengers tower was open to the public."

"I think Logan had to talk to Captain America anyway. Nick Fury wants to get ideas for future Avengers, so he let him bring the kids with him."

"That was nice of him, but I think a lot of them want to be X-men. But I guess it would help mutant relations out if we had a few mutants on the most famous superhero team in the world."

"_You're right, mom" _Nate thought, overhearing this from the herd of students in front of them, being sure to shield his thoughts. _"When Quicksilver joins them mutants get a big break." _

"Yeah, I suppose it would." He paused and look around at their surroundings as they approached the reception desk. "This is gonna be so awesome."

"Welcome back, Mr. Logan" the receptionist said as they reached the counter, looking both frazzled and slightly terrified at the sight of the hairy, short, clawed mutant. "Let me just call Mr. Fury's office and-"

"I've got it, Mary." Everyone turned to see the finely dressed Tony Stark step out of the elevator, surrounded by an entourage of beautiful ladies, all giggling madly.

"Sorry ladies, I've got business to attend to" he told them in his classy playboy tone.

"Awe" they all said in unison as they sulked away.

"Never could keep it in your pants, could you Tony?" Logan said with a grin, stepping forward to shake Iron man's hand.

"Good to see you too, Logan" Tony replied, returning the smile. He glanced at Scott, jean, and the students gathered around them. "I guess you're all here for the tour, huh? It isn't every day we get this many visitors. I just have to warn you. Don't be surprised when good ol' Nick shoves piles of paperwork into your face and tries to get you to join the team. He's like that, Nick." He turned to Logan.

"By the way, did you get those forms he sent you?" Wolverine scoffed.

"I already told both Nick and Steve, I'll only stay on as a reserve Avenger, my place is with X-men. Who else is gonna teach these kids not get themselves killed?"

"Don't you have a clone now?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"Kiss my ass, armor boy."

**This took WAY too long. I'm really, really sorry. I had a scholarship paper to write and I've just now gotten the time to sit down and do this. This isn't as long as I wanted, but it got me to a place where I wanted to be. Happy reading, look for the next update very, very soon. **


	9. Proposals and Plans

**Sorry guys, I really need to update a lot more. From now on I'm going to try and get chapters up every week, if not faster. So the story is starting to speed up, and get even more complicated than though possible. (Comic books, my friends) Happy reading!**

**LINEBREAK**

The student's jaws dropped in awe as they arrived at the top of Avenger tower, which was more gloriously awesome than any of them could have ever imagined. Nate smiled at their reactions, remembering his own excitement on his first visit to the tower with Wolverine and Daken. Things were arranged differently now, though Nate had expected this, considering his future first visit wouldn't occur for another two decades or so.

The roof was a magnificent glass dome, the sun shining through it, giving the entire room a golden sheen. There was a crosswalk above their heads, leading to various platforms where different computer monitors stood, spitting out data that would make no sense to anyone but a specialist, or the Vision. The wall opposite the elevator was curved inward, forming a semicircle. Glass cases lined it, each containing a different set of Tony Stark's armor, each with its own purpose.

The floors were a black shade of some kind of smooth stone, marble perhaps. The doors that lined the walls each had a sign, reading things such as 'armory' or, 'administration'. Newspaper clippings filled in the blank space, each one telling of the Avengers many heroic deeds.

"This place is amazing," Jean whispered to Scott, who nodded in agreement.

"I have to talk to the Professor," he replied, wearing an ecstatic grin. "I've got some major upgrades to make to the mansion."

"Can the Professor even afford this stuff? I mean, this place is government funded, even he can't compete with that."

"Logan can probably arrange something with Nick Fury; you know how he is, a little _too_ persuasive."

In the center of the floor was the team's emblem, formed by combining each of the member's symbols together, Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield, and so on. Jean and Scott ushered the student into the lounger area in the corner, struggling to keep both the students as well as their own curiosity in check. Tony smiled; he was enjoying having outsiders in the tower, much easier to surprise than duty hardened superheroes.

"You kids are in for a real treat today, It's a pity you met me first, should've saved the best for last," Wolverine snorted, and Jean and Scott chortled at his charismatic way of expressing his somewhat overlarge ego. Clicking a button on his watch, Tony turned to face the tour group fully, spreading his arms wide as if performing a show. "Well, Steve, take it away."

"Avengers, assemble!" a powerful voice boomed. Steve Rodgers, Captain America the living symbol of hope and freedom stepped into the room, his iconic shield gleaming on his arm.

Robotic arms sprung out of the walls around Tony, molding him into the invincible Iron Man. Multicolored lights bloomed into the air above the onlookers, Doctor Stephen Strange, The Master of the mystic arts appearing, his cape swirling behind him. The Vision, the android imbued with human emotions floated mysteriously out of another door, scanning the guests with his mechanical eyes.

Nate took a sharp breath, ducking behind Lorna. He prayed to god Vision wouldn't take the time to scan down to the genetic level, which would reveal his identity to not only his parents, but to a room full of kids and supernatural beings.

"What the heck are you doing?" Lorna whispered as he hid hunched over behind her.

"Nothing," he insisted. Lorna raised a green eyebrow, and he relented, standing up again. Luckily for him, Vision didn't deem it necessary to scan their genes, opting to float in midair like a metallic ghost.

The sky darkened high above them, and with a BOOM of thunder, the Asgardian God Thor made his appearance, the hammer Mjolnir rested on his shoulder, divine energy circling his entire body. His blonde hair flowed from beneath his winged helmet, reaching halfway down his armored chest.

A panel in the glassy ceiling opened wide, and a blonde masked woman wearing a tight black leotard flew in, Carol Danvers, Miss Marvel. She looked around wildly, eagerly prepared for battle, her expression quirked oddly when she saw the gathering of young people.

"So, are we doing kids parties now or something?" she asked her teammates, an annoyed undertone dominating her words.

"They're our guests, Carol," Nick Fury said as he stepped out of the administration wing, peering around the room. "Where's Bruce?"

"I'm not sure" Captain America said. "I think he was talking to Reed Richards in the laboratory."

"**Indeed"** Vision croaked in a deep voice, x-ray eyes surveying the building. **"He approaches now."** At that moment Dr. Bruce Banner, the incredible Hulk entered the room wearing a plain white lab coat, consulting a clipboard of complex scientific data with a man with graying brown hair in a blue jumpsuit, Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four.

"How nice of you to join us, Bruce," Nick said, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"I'm terribly sorry," Bruce apologized, eyeing the watching mutants nervously. "I got sidetracked; Reed and I have made some incredible progress on the new suppresser serum."

"Never mind that now, we have a meeting scheduled, you're free to join us, Reed," he told the stretchy genius.

"Thank you Nick, but I have to get home before Sue murders John and Ben; you know how pregnancy can be." Nate's eyes widened, he'd forgotten Sue Richards was pregnant in this era, pregnant with Franklin Richards, his future brother in law. He was beginning to feel more and more alone, surrounded by so many friends and family, yet unable to embrace a single one of them.

The Avengers, including Logan all moved towards the administrative door, Reed entering the elevator.

"You're free to look around," Wolverine told them as he exited the room. "But don't touch _**anything, **_keep a close eye on 'em, Slym, Red," he told Scott and Jean.

Teenaged mutants took off in all directions, eagerly piling through different doorways. Most went through to the training area where most of the weapons and other cools stuff was kept, others went to the science lab, while some went to the dormitories, the sleeping grounds of heroes…..how epic.

Nate was about to follow the Stepford Cuckoos into the science lab, but noticed Jean and Scott walk alone to the door labeled 'observation deck'. Spy on his future parents, would he really stoop to that level? Of course he would. His eye glowed slightly as he pulled a telepathic shield over his mind, preventing Jean from sensing him, and crept out the door behind them.

The morning sun shone brightly, looking especially beautiful from the top of the highest tower in New York. The mutant couple leaned together against the railing, theirs hands wrapped together. Although he knew he was going to be witnessing something mushy and romantic, Nate couldn't help but feel happy being in their presence, so filled with bliss before it was all tragically taken away. So he waited crouching by the doorway out of sight.

"Sure you don't want to look around inside? I know how excited you were about coming here," Jean asked.

"Nah," Scott said with a grin. "I can get Logan to bring me back sometime. Now I'd rather spend some time with my girl, we've been awfully busy with teaching lately." Jean laughed, scooting closer to him.

"I agree, Mr. Summers, you have any plans in mind?" Scott smiled wider, but the edges of his mouth twitched nervously, hesitantly moving forward.

"Yeah, a couple of things actually." He lowered himself onto one knee, and Nate heard an audible gasp from Jean as he withdrew a small black box from his pocket.

"I'm not really that great with words, but here it goes. Jean Grey, will you marry me." A squeal exploded from the red headed telepath, and Nate had to suppress a cheer as she pulled him into a passionate kiss, the seal of a commitment.

In the science the lab, the five cuckoos walked solitary along an isle of floating beakers containing various mixtures and concoctions. Their eyes glowed purple, and the remnants of a howling laugh escaping their lips.

"_Cassandra chose very wisely passing a shard of her mind to you, ladies. I believe you know what to do."_

"Yes, Master Stryfe," they responded in unison.

**LINEBREAK**

"As much as I enjoy the watching you work Henry, can I please get an explanation?"

Emma Frost asked impatiently, sitting atop the medical bays examination table. Her skin was like diamond. Literally like diamonds. It shimmered in the light, and had become hard and dense as stone. Even her hair had become glistening coils of crystal.

Beast looked up from his microscope, sighing wearily. Emma was without a doubt the least patient woman he'd ever known anywhere. Even in med school he'd never met someone quite like her. She could be as tactless as it was possible to be and still dress it up with her naturally occurring charisma.

"Your dermis has developed a layer of carbonic crystal, diamond. It seems you've developed a secondary mutation, Emma." Before she could respond to this however the door opened and the Professor rolled into the room, closely followed by Storm.

"Well, Frost, it would seem you've finally taken your 'fashion' to the point of insanity. Although I can't say I'm surprised." Emma smiled up at her old schoolmate with a venomously sweet smile.

"Yes well you know what they say, diamonds are a girl's best friend" Emma replied, closely examining her now jeweled manicure. "Although you never were much for looking good, were you Ororo?" Charles rolled his eyes. Even after all these years the two of them couldn't even have a civil conversation with one another, leaving him to play the referee, which was never any fun at all.

"Please, ladies, we're all friends here. There's no need for such hostility," he could see both women huff slightly, their brows contracting disdainfully. Yes, there was a need for hostility, it was the only thing they associated each other with, always had been, and always would be. This saddened the aging telepath. He'd always thought of his students as his family, and it pained him to see the earliest of his 'children' hold one another in such contempt.

"Will you two ever grow up?" Beast asked exasperatedly. "My stars and garters you sound like a pair of squabbling teenage girls!"

"I take that as a compliment, Henry," Emma said. "It's good to know I've kept my figure, I suppose you have too Ororo."

"Why thank you, Emma," the weather goddess growled.

"Have you discovered the nature of Emma's new form, Hank?" Charles interjected, attempting to change the subject.

"Oh, yes. It seems her entire body has taken on a new carbonic form, very similar to that of a diamond. I was able to get a tiny sample of hair," Emma huffed indignantly, loathing the sacrifice of even the tiniest bit of her gorgeous hair. "It seems to not only add a significant defense, but to magnify her strength ten fold."

"It's a pleasant surprise," Emma said, smashing the examining table to something that resembled a ball of tinfoil. "Pity it suppresses my telepathy." She closed her eyes tightly, and with a groan she'd never usually emit, her skin morphed back into its usually flawless self.

"Do you know what triggered it?" Charles asked. "Secondary mutations are not uncommon, but they are usually caused by an outside source or event."

"I have no idea," Emma replied honestly. "No traumatic experiences today Charles. I was in the middle of my ethics class," Storm coughed loudly. "And I simply collapsed. My students told me I was out for no more than a minute, and I woke up in diamonds."

Unknown to the teachers, a tiny blonde headed girl watched from the doorway, looking through the smallest of cracks.

"_The time is now, Cassandra, the trap is in place, spring it." _Stryfe's voice told her quietly.


	10. Dinner of Doom: Part One

**Sorry guys, I've had finals to study for. That and I was out of town for two weeks, stupid vacation But now I'm out of school so expect updates to be much more rapid from here on out.**

**LINEBREAK**

It was Friday night, the time designed solely for social interaction amongst teenagers. School was over for the week and students were free to procrastinate to their hearts content, opting to go out on the town rather than do their assignments. Nate was kind of overwhelmed. He sat in the center of the game room, slouched lazily on a plush couch, watching the whirlwind of activity unfurl around him. A couple was kissing fervently in the corner, others were viciously ripping each other apart on Halo 3, and even more were simply bunched in groups around the room, talking at speeds beyond regular comprehension.

Nate had never really been in this sort of situation. He'd been in some incredibly drastic situations where life and death were hanging in the balance, but never had he been in a room of so many teenagers. Sure he'd dated Talia, but they'd known one another since infancy. By the time Nate was supposed to enter high school, and began coming into his hormones, the world had already been taken over, leaving no room for any real teen interaction.

"Hey!" a voice called. He turned to see Lorna make her way through the crowd, her green hair pulled back in a messy pony tail, light sweat gleaming on her forehead. "What's up?" she asked, plopping down next to him on the couch. Nate sighed; time to make something else up. He was getting sick of making up fake details about his life, using a fake last name, and being unable to tell anyone _anything _without the risk of pulling them into _his _fight. Above all he was sick of hiding his love for his parents and family, and being unable to show them any kind of meaningful affection.

"Nothing really, I just feel really out of place here." Lorna's oddly colored eyebrows raised with an odd expression.

"This your first high school party or something?" Nate nodded, answering his future aunt's question.

"I was homeschooled for most of my life; this is the first high school I've ever been to." This wasn't a total lie. He had been homeschooled, his home just happened to also be a school. "It doesn't help that I don't know anyone here, well apart from you." Most of the teenagers in the room he knew, but he knew them when they were older, and were not students but members of the X-corps, the X-men's global organization.

Lorna gave him a kind understanding smile, something she gave to very few.

"I know what you mean, I never had many friends, mostly because they were freaked out by my hair," she said, running her fingers through the green locks.

"Has it always been that color?" he asked, though he already knew the answer; he had to keep his cover. Lorna nodded.

"Yeah, Dr. McCoy told me it was my 'changeling' mutation, the part of it I was born with. It's always freaked people out, but I like it too much to dye it. All the 'normal hair' colors are boring anyway," and they both laughed, barely audible over the chatter of the surrounding crowd. "That's part of your powers too, right?" she asked, flicking at the solitary snow white lock hanging in the time traveler's face.

"Uh huh, my mom tried cutting it when I was younger, but it grew back in a few minutes. She gave up pretty quickly."

"I didn't know hair had anything to do with psychic powers," Lorna commented.

"I didn't know hair had anything to do with magnetic powers," he shot back with a grin; bringing forth more laughter from them both.

"Come on," Lorna said grabbing his hand and pulling him off the couch. "I'm not letting you waste your time away. Everyone's doing something tonight, heck; even the teachers are having date night."

"Date night?" Nate queried as she pulled him out of the room.

"Yep, they all went out to celebrate Cyclops and Miss Grey's engagement, you did hear about that, didn't you?"

"Of course I have, it's all everyone's been talking about lately. But did they really leave the school completely unsupervised just to go celebrate?" Lorna rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, Nate, they're just going to leave a bunch of super powered teenagers alone," she drawled sarcastically. "I think Professor X is in his office, doing paperwork or something like that, leaving the front door wide open," she said cheekily as she pointed down the main staircase at the schools ornate front doors. Nate stared at her for a moment before he understood what she meant.

"You want to sneak out, don't you?" he asked, rubbing his temples anxiously. His aunt Lorna wouldn't change much over the years, and would remain the same thrill seeking maniac throughout the years. He could see now what his Uncle Alex, the stereotypical surfer-dude, saw in her.

"Well duh, it's Friday night, what else would we do? Stay at school like 'good little boys and girls'? I think you know that's not my thing."

She started down the stairs, dragging Nate by the forearm behind her, a lavish grin on her face. The psychic gave little resistance, knowing that it was ultimately futile; he'd never escape the mistress of magnetism. Lorna turned the metal doorknob and swung the door open with the flick of a wrist and forced Nate through it onto the darkened front drive of the institute.

"You, wanna drive, or you wanna fly?" she asked, releasing him at last from her iron grip. "You can fly, right? Telekinesis can do that?" Nate glared, rubbing his sore arm and adjusting the sleeve of his jacket.

"Of course it can, but reminds me, how does magnetism make you fly?" He'd always wondered this, but never asked in either time period.

"I'm not sure, actually" she replied. "I think it has something to do the natural magnetic fields of the planet. So, are you coming or not?" she rose several feet into the air.

Nate stepped forward reluctantly, preparing to take to the sky. All of a sudden, Lorna squealed as she was involuntarily forced to the ground, tumbling backward into the cool grass, psychic energy flaring around her. Nate did a one eighty in mid air, turning to see the mousy haired Quentin Quire approach, his hand raised, lime green psionic lightning twisting through his fingers.

"I don't believe you were given permission to leave campus, Nathan" Quentin said calmly, pushing his horn-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Nor you, Lorna, I doubt the Professor will be lenient in punishing you for this transgression, considering how rude you are to the majority of the staff" he added, glancing at the fallen magnetic mutant.

"What do you want Quentin?" Nate asked lowering himself to the ground. The way Quentin spoke baffled him, using far too complicated sentence structure for a regular teenager. Then again Kid Omega wasn't exactly normal; he was a super-genius Omega-level mutant.

"He's come to turn us in, the little teacher's pet" Lorna growled as she stood up, anger flickering in her eyes.

"That's quite an assumption, Lorna" Quentin said, feigning offence. "However you've assumed wrong. I've come to accompany you on your excursion." Lorna fell over again, quite literally tripping over her now dropped jaw.

"What?" Nate asked dumbfounded.

"You heard me, Nathan. I wish to come with you, there is little entertainment to be found here…. And…." Genuine sadness washed over his features, though he quickly regained his composure. "And there seems to be no one here who wishes to acquire my friendship… even Sophie."

"You can't really blame her though," Lorna said climbing to her feet once more."Who'd want to hang out with a creep like you? Ow!" Nate quickly smacked her upside the head, eyeing Quentin with sympathetic eyes. He'd seen how Quentin looked longingly at Sophie Cuckoo, leader of the quintuple hive mind. Sophie herself either hadn't noticed or didn't care.

As Nate knew the future, he also knew what toll this unrequited affection would reap. Madness, hatred, rage. Kid Omega would take the school by storm, manipulate its feeble minded yet stoic bodied students, and kidnap the Professor in a drug crazed riot. To put it simply, he would go bat-shit crazy. Would having a single friend make a difference? It was worth a try.

"Sure, you can come with us." It was impossible to tell who was more surprised by this statement, Lorna or Quentin. "We haven't decided where exactly were going, any ideas?" he gave him a friendly smile.

"Uh, uh," Quentin babbled, still shocked by the acceptance of his fellow psychic. "We could go see a film or something of that nature."

"Great" Nate said grinning, rising back into the air, gesturing to Lorna to do the same. She looked ready to burst. Had her friend _really_ just invited the creepiest kid on campus to come with them?

"You aren't serious, are you?" she pleaded with him, giving no effort to being tactful in Quentin's presence. Her words were met with a sharp look that was so intense; she lost the will to protest any further.

"_Damn psychics"_ she thought loudly. Both boys laughed, earning each of them a glare.

"Let's get going. Miss Frost taught you to hide your psychic signature, right? Otherwise the Professor will know we've left." Quentin nodded meekly, excitement evident in his face. He rose from the ground, and the three teens took off into the sky.

"_Maybe I really am making a difference"_ Nate thought within his shielded mind.

**LINEBREAK**

"_I don't know how you do it, Charles" _the thickly accented voice of Moira McTaggert reverberated out of the receiver into the Professors ear. _"How can you manage more than a hundred students with less than a dozen staff members? And mutant students at that." _She sounded utterly baffled. Charles chuckled lightly.

"Things have only been going smoothly _so far, _Moira. Something's bound to go wrong eventually." Moira laughed lightly

"_I suppose you're right, although things may be easier if you were to let Rahne teach"_ she put nagging emphasis on the last part. Charles gave the tiniest of groans, suppressing it enough so that Moira wouldn't hear it on the other end. He had gotten enough heat about this from the New Mutants themselves without having to get it from their parents as well.

"I'll tell you what I told her, Moira, she must complete her senior year first, as must all of those wishing to take a teachers position." There was a long silence before Charles heard her sigh dejectedly.

"_Well that is only another year. Is Rahne still courting that Madrox lad?"_

"Yes, I believe she is. The two seem very happy together." Moira moaned.

"_I suppose men are where her intelligence fails." _ Charles opened his mouth to reply but was cut short by a knock at his office door, a psychic presence pulling at his nerve endings.

"I'm afraid I'll have to call you back, Moira duty calls. Please do remember to send over those new research files, I look forward to reading them. "

"_Of course, good night, Charles, give Rahne my love." _

"I will, good night." He hung up the phone and looked up at the door. "Come in."The doors swung open and the Stepford Cuckoos entered single file forming a semicircle around the large oak desk, their eyes shining a dim shade of blue.

"Good evening, Professor" the said in the same monotone voice. The Professor smiled.

"Good, evening ladies. What can I do for you?"

"For us?" Sophie asked quizzically, head cocking to the side. "I'm afraid it isn't us who has business with you tonight. It is our mistress." The Professor stared. Mistress?

"Mistress? I-'m afraid I don't know what you mean young lad-" Suddenly he felt himself being flung from his wheelchair by a telekinetic wallop. He slammed into the eastern wall, which cracked and splintered on impact. He slid to the floor, and lifted his head in the direction of his assaulters. The cuckoo's hair began to blow wildly behind them, their skin turned the pale white of diamond, and their eyes were flashing deep shades of purple.

A strange violet fog seemed to emanate from them, forming a cloud which began to take the shape of a distinctively feminine form, with a bald head and a feral gaze.

Charles could feel the attack coming, and rose his mental shields to protect his mind. However he wasn't fast enough to block the entirety of the attack, and two simple words branded themselves into his mind.

"Hello, brother."

**LINEBREAK**

"It's about time you two!" Kitty told the newly engaged couple for the umpteenth time, nods of agreement arising around her. The two gave a simultaneous sigh, though they were both smiling. They were never going to hear the end of it. The newly engaged couple sat beside one another at one of several large circular tables situated in the secluded corner of a magnificent dining hall, their friends and fellow X-men seated around them.

All of those in attendance were still astonished that the Professor was able to get them reservations at Per Se, one of the nicest and most expensive restaurants in Manhattan; though it wasn't as surprising when you considered the fact that he was a well respected billionaire. This made Jean and Scott al the more saddened when they learned that the Professor would be unable to accompany them for the celebration, as he was busy with school paperwork, as well as supervising the students.

Per Se was a dazzling spectacle, beautifully decorated with the most lavish of fabrics, floral arrangements and lighting fixtures, treating the eyes of its customers to delights equal to if not greater than those it brought to the mouth. Rich smells filled every nostril, and some of the male X-men, such as Kurt, Logan, Hank, and Remy were literally salivating in anticipation, licking their lips hungrily.

"I thought you were above such animalistic behavior, Henry" Emma commented from beside the blue furred mutant, an amused smirk gracing her lips. A light chuckle spread around the table as Beast hastily whipped the excess drool from his fanged mouth, looking thoroughly embarrassed

"I apologize, Emma. It's quite difficult to remain dignified in a place with such... exotic scents."

"Don't feel too embarrassed, Hank" Ororo told him from the opposite side of the table next to Wolverine, as far away from Emma as possible. "Logan's getting rather restless as well" she elbowed Logan lightly in the ribs, grinning playfully. The clawed mutant gave only a minute grunt in response, his eyes firmly locked on the kitchen doors across the room.

"Remy wishes dat they'd hurry up wit de grub," said Gambit, rubbing his stomach lightly for emphasis.

"How can you be so hungry?" Rogue asked incredulously. "Ah saw you eat no less than three sandwiches before we left." Gambit shrugged

"A guy's got to eat, Cherie."

**Ok, I was going to make this slightly longer, but I really wanted to this out. So expect the next chapter to begin with more playful chat at dinner, then of course the shit will hit the fan, as it always must. Read and Review!**


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